The Chronicles of a Pokemon Master
by kieis
Summary: Join Ash and his friends in this retelling of the Pokemon anime as they travel around the Pokemon world. They will meet old and new friends and enemies and will face many challenges along the way. Ash will face new and exciting adventures on his way to becoming the Pokemon Master.
1. Ash and Pikachu

**Author's Note:**

 **Hey guys, this will be my first ever story and it's quite an ambitious one to say the least. It's a story that will focus on Ash's journey to becoming the Pokemon Master and this story in particular will focus on Ash and co. travelling through the Kanto region. Essentially it is a re-write of the Pokemon anime with my own little twist and will be combined with story elements from the game and the Pokemon Adventures manga. Ash will get smarter as this story progresses apart from a few comedic moments and will be joined by familiar characters and a few new ones as well.**

 **Anyway with that being said, Let's get into it.**

* * *

Chapter 1: Ash and Pikachu

"Aaaaaarrrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhhhhh!" a loud voice bellowed, echoing over the peaceful tranquillity that the small yet quaint Pallet Town usually experiences. The culprit of this disturbance is ten year old, Ash Ketchum, an aspiring Pokemon training with ambitions of becoming the Pokemon Master. Today is a special day for young Ash Ketchum as it marks the day that he can receive his very first Pokemon from the highly revered Professor Oak.

"Ash? Are you alright dear?" a concerned motherly voice called from downstairs. This voice belonged to none other than Ash's Mother, Delia Ketchum. Delia was a young, single mum that had her brown hair tied into a ponytail that extends to her mid-back and auburn-brown eyes. She was currently wearing a long blue dress that originates from her waist and a pink buttoned short-sleeved shirt.

Suddenly, Ash jumped downstairs and dashed across the hall exclaiming "It's 10 o'clock! I'm gonna be late! I'm gonna be late!". Ash had his mother's auburn-brown eyes with messy black hair hidden underneath his lucky red and white hat and was sporting a black T-shirt covered by an unzipped blue jacket with short white sleeves, blue jeans and a white pair of sneakers, useful for when he is in hurry.

"Oh, for Pete's sake Ash! I told you to get some sleep last night otherwise you would be late!" Delia berated frustratedly. She was generally used to Ash's childish antics but he still never failed to surprise her with his thoughtlessness. "Make sure you come back here before you leave" she reminded.

"Yeah, okay. I'm sorry." Ash replied sheepishly as he slammed the door behind him and sprinted down the dirt road towards Professor Oak's lab. "Oh man, oh man, oh man I can't believe I fell asleep." he mentally berated himself. He continued to do this until he came across a familiar face.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here. I can't believe you're late for one of the most important moments of your pathetic life." Gary said with a condescending tone. Gary had messy brown hair and was wearing a deep-blue long-sleeved sweater with black long pants. Gary Oak was the grand-son of Professor Samuel Oak and son of the current Champion of the Kanto Region, the great Blue Oak, and so he has greatness running through his veins and this is a fact he brought up as often as possible around his greatest rival, Ash Ketchum.

Ash and Gary's rivalry goes way back and could be seen in every activity they did with each other. They were highly competitive and everything they ever did was a competition whether they were fishing, running or swimming. Even daily arbitrary tasks like eating or sleeping was like its own little event in the Olympics. No matter what they were doing, they were constantly at each other's throats but underneath this fierce rivalry was a deep friendship that was obvious to everyone but Ash and Gary.

"Uhhh… yeah, I may have overslept a little..." Ash admitted, scratching his neck nervously.

"What did you do? You didn't try and stay up all night trying to be the first one there, did you?" Gary asked sarcastically.

"Uhhhh…" Ash trailed off into thought.

* * *

 _XXXXX_

" _Ash Ketchum! It is 10 o'clock! You should have been asleep hours ago!" Delia yelled angrily at Ash as she grabbed the remote and turned off his TV._

" _Well you see Mum..." Ash responded in an attempt to explain. "If I stay up all night, I'll be able to get to Professor Oak's lab really early and get first pick of the Pokemon."_

" _You do realise what's going to happen don't you?" she asked rhetorically. "You're going to fall asleep in two or three hours and sleep in way too late and be the last person to choose and you'll be stuck with whichever Pokemon is left."_

" _Nah, I'll be fine Mum." Ash poorly reassured Delia who clearly had no faith in Ash's ability to be able to pull this off._

" _Fine, do what you want. But if you fall asleep, I will not be waking you up. You're about to go off and see the world on your own and you need to start dealing with the consequences of your actions." Delia explained sternly._

" _Thanks Mum, I'll be fine. Just you wait and see." Ash said with a stupid grin on his face._

 _XXXXX_

 _2 hours later…_

" _Ash? Ash, are you still awake?" Delia queried, quietly knocking on the door. Upon not hearing a response she slowly inched the door open to see the general mess that was Ash's room with the light on and the TV still buzzing in the background with Ash sprawled across the floor snoring in a deep sleep without a care in the world. "What an idiot." Delia couldn't help but have a chuckle at her son's antics._

 _XXXXX_

* * *

"...maybe." Ash reluctantly muttered.

"Hahahahaha!" Gary couldn't control himself. "Leave it to you Ashy-boy to come up with some idiotic plan to get ahead of me. I know you need that little head-start to even be on my level with me having greatness in my DNA and what not."

"Grrrrr..." Ash vented. There was nothing he hated more than letting Gary get the upper hand. In this moment of frustration, Ash noticed something of interest that put a small mischievous grin on his face. "Are those bags under your eyes Gary?"

"Huh?! No! What are you on about?" Gary blurted out in a futile attempt to cover them up.

"Yes they are! You stayed up all night too, didn't you?" Ash inquired cheekily.

"Alright you got me. I had the same idea as you but clearly I was able to succeed in my endeavour" Gary admitted.

"Yeah I guess so," Ash muttered. "But I don't understand. I practised staying awake all night the day before to make sure I could do it and I pulled it off just fine then." Ash added bemusedly.

"..." Gary stared blankly back at Ash.

"What?" Ash asked defensively.

"You truly are an idiot amongst idiots," Gary replied with a smart-ass tone. "Anyway Ashy-boy, you'd better get your sleepy butt to Gramps' Lab or there might not be any Pokemon left."

"There's no way the Professor wouldn't have a Pokemon for me. He had three Pokemon; One for you, one for me and one for Alain, so I'll just take what's left." Ash said.

"I'm just saying, you never know what could happen and it's our new job as Pokemon trainers to be able to expect the unexpected." Gary replied.

"Oh yeah, which Pokemon did you choose?" Ash inquired.

"Only the best Pokemon there!" Gary answered confidently as he unclipped a Pokeball from his belt which opened to reveal a light blue turtle with a brown shell and pale yellow belly. "Let me introduce to the greatest Squirtle to have ever graced this land!"

"Squirtle Squirt!" the Tiny Turtle Pokemon responded arrogantly matching the mannerisms of it's new trainer.

"Oh wow, so you chose Squirtle? That's so awesome!" Ash exclaimed excitedly.

"Yeah, you don't have to tell me twice!" Gary arrogantly replied. "I chose this little guy to be one up on our pal Alain who chose Charmander as his first Pokemon."

"So Alain chose Charmander hey? Damn! That's what I was gonna choose." Ash said to himself.

"Well you shouldn't have fell asleep then Ashy-boy!" Gary taunted.

"Oh well. I guess that leaves me with Bulbasaur and that's just fine!" Ash said with a determined expression. "That's the same Pokemon my Dad had when he left for his journey and it will give me the advantage over you and your Squirtle when we battle."

"Don't count on it bud!" Gary responded confidently.

"Squirtle Squirt!" Squirtle also responded backing up Gary.

"I could have chosen to have the advantage over you but I knew that Alain was going to be a much stronger rival for me that you could ever be!" Gary added mockingly. "I'm not even slightly worried about you!"

"Hey!" Ash responded angrily. "Just you wait, I'll beat you and your Dad and then I'm on my way to becoming the Pokemon Master!"

"You becoming the Pokemon Master? Don't make me laugh! There's no way you could ever become the World's Strongest Pokemon Trainer when you couldn't even become the strongest in Pallet Town." Gary arrogantly retorted. "There is greatness in my blood! You just can't compete with that Ashy-boy!

"We'll just see about that!" Ash responded defiantly.

At this point both young trainers were in each others faces with looks of pure determination in their eyes.

"Well, I had best be on my way," Gary finally said after several moments of their intense stare-off. "Squirtle, return." he said as he recalled his new Pokemon.

"Yeah, I guess so," Ash replied. "Next time we meet lets have a Pokemon battle!"

"Heh, I can always make time to humiliate you!" Gary remarked. "Anyway, I'll smell ya later Ashy-boy!"

"Alright, see ya!" Ash said walking off in the direction of Professor Oak's laboratory whilst Gary had his sights set on Route 1 to start his adventure.

With a quick wave from both Ash and Gary, they were on their way to bigger and better things.

* * *

After realising that he has still yet to pick a Pokemon, Ash had once again taken up running towards Oak's Lab and after what seemed like miles, he had finally arrived at his destination. He lunged up the last few steps to arrive at the huge front door of the lab. Exhausted, Ash weakly knocked on the large wooden door.

"Coming." Ash heard an elderly voice call out. Moments later the large red wooden doors opened revealing the figure of one of the most revered Pokemon Professors in the world. Professor Oak was an older man with neat grey hair and large black, bushy eyebrows. He wore his white lab coat over a red polo shirt which were neatly tucked into his khaki pants. "Ah, Ash my boy! I was wondering where you might have been." Oak greeted happily.

"Yeah, sorry I'm late Professor. I may have overslept a little." Ash replied sheepishly.

"No matter Ash, right this way I have some news for you." Oak said gesturing for Ash to follow him.

The room Oak had brought Ash to was one of the main rooms of the laboratory. Looking around this room revealed loads of high tech equipment including a large circular table in the centre with three Pokeball sized indentations.

"I ran into Gary and he said that Alain chose Charmander," Ash explained, "but I'm hoping he's lying because I was really hoping to be able to choose Charmander as my starter."

"Well you know what they say. The early bird gets the worm. Or in this case the Pokemon..." Oak commented. "But that isn't the news I had for you."

"Oh yeah, what is that news you wanted to speak to me about?" asked Ash.

"Well Ash my boy, I'm afraid it isn't good news." Oak begun to explain. "You see, I had originally planned for each you, Gary and Alain to receive a Pokemon from me as I had three to begin with."

"Right. Gary received Squirtle and Alain received Charmander so there should still be a Bulbasaur left for me to collect." Ash deduced.

"And there was. Up until a few minutes ago when a young girl not much older than yourself snuck into my lab and stole the Pokeball containing Bulbasaur that would have ordinarily sat in one of those Pokeball holders on that desk over there." explained the Professor who was gesturing towards the large circular table in the centre of the room.

"Wah! You've got to be kidding me!" Ash exclaimed in surprise. There was no way this could happen Ash thought. Just a few moments ago he was speaking to Gary. Surely his Bulbasaur couldn't have been stolen in that time he spent with Gary. "Isn't there anything we can do about it Professor?" he asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid not. She could be anywhere by now." exclaimed Oak. Truthfully, Professor Oak knows that she couldn't have gone too far as the event had only occurred a few minutes ago and he could have stopped the young girl but decided against it as he had this overwhelming feeling that she could do some real good in the world.

"Oh man..." Ash muttered feeling defeated. "You don't happen to have any more Pokemon, do you?"

"Well..." Oak said drifting into thought, "I do have one..."

"Please Professor, you have to give it to me or there's no way I can become the Pokemon Master." Ash pleaded.

"Well okay but I must warn you that it is quite hostile around humans as it has had quite a troubled past." Oak warned as he pressed a button that caused a Pokeball with a unique lightning bolt pattern to come out from the centre of the circular desk. Oak picked up the Pokeball and handed it to Ash. "Here you go Ash. Now, be careful."

"Thank you so much Professor! I promise I will be." Ash exclaimed excitedly. He immediately released the Pokemon from it's Pokeball to reveal a yellow rodent with black-tipped, pointy ears, red, round cheeks and a lightning bolt shaped tail.

"Pikaaaachuu," the Pokemon yawned as it stretched. It then gave a look of content, seemingly happy to be outside of it's Pokeball.

"That's a Pikachu." explained Oak. "It's an electric type Pokemon that stores it's electricity in electricity pouches found within their cheeks."

Ash's smile grew from cheek to cheek as he finally had his first Pokemon. "Hey Pikachu, my name is Ash Ketchum and I think you and I are going to be great friends." Ash said warmly extending a hand to symbolise the beginning of their friendship.

Pikachu just stood there and stared back at this Ash Ketchum boy. Pikachu didn't trust humans for a reason; they abuse him when he fails to do their dirty work for them properly, even if he was morally objected to the stuff they were doing and he was sure this guy was no different. With that in mind Pikachu turned away from Ash in defiance wanting nothing to do with him.

"Oh, come on. Don't be like that." Ash said in a reassuring voice as he raised his hand to give Pikachu a comforting pat on the head.

"No Ash! Don't do that!" warned the Professor.

This warning came too late as Ash had already laid his hand between the Mouse Pokemon's ears which caused it to release a powerful Thunderbolt which fried Ash causing him to collapse onto the floor.

"I tried to warn you Ash. It's shocking isn't it." Oak joked.

"You… can say… that… again." Ash managed to stutter as electricity still crackled through his body.

Pikachu just sat there. Half of him was satisfied to give that kid a reality check but the other was terrified that he would retaliate violently like all of his other owners have done in the past when he electrocuted them.

"Ash my boy, are you okay?" Oak asked with a hint of concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ash replied. "Man was that Thunderbolt awesome!" he then exclaimed.

Pikachu looked around with intrigue. No one has ever responded to being shocked with a compliment like that. In fact, no one has even complimented him before. There was something different about this boy.

"Clearly this was a bad idea," Oak said. "I'll see if I can find you another Pokemon."

"No!" Ash responded defiantly. "It was my fault Pikachu shocked me. I must have startled it when I reached out to pat it."

"If you insist. But I must tell you that I received this Pokemon from a rescue shelter because it was too hostile to keep there." Oak warned. "I must also tell you that this Pikachu was rescued from the dangers of Team Rocket. These are the only type of people this Pokemon knows about which is the cause of it's distrust. I'm afraid raising your first Pokemon will be the ultimate test for you as Pokemon trainer and that I'm throwing you into the deep end, so to speak."

"That doesn't matter to me," Ash said warmly as he glanced towards Pikachu. "I experienced first hand how awesome this Pikachu is and I won't let anyone else hurt it the way Team Rocket did."

Pikachu still looked on with awe at this boy. Perhaps he was different from the rest. He would still have to keep a wary eye on him to make sure he didn't go back on his word but he at least deserves a chance to prove his friendship.

Oak smiled at Ash's nurturing and compassionate nature. Maybe he could be the one to help this Pikachu forget his past. "Very well then, it's settled. Pikachu will be your very first Pokemon." he declared.

"Alright!" Ash celebrated. "You aright with that Pikachu?"

Pikachu didn't respond immediately as he was trying to gauge Ash's reaction to sense any evil in his face. After finding nothing to put him off he gave a small nod without any hint of a smile.

"Then let's get this show on the road!" Ash said with determination.

"Before you leave I request that you take this." Oak said as he handed Ash a red, rectangular box.

"What is it?" Ash asked.

"This is a Pokedex." Oak explained. "It can be used to record and give out any information about the Pokemon you may encounter on your journey. Unfortunately my age is creeping up on me and I am too old to do the field research that I would like to do. It can be very useful to you by telling you the moves of your Pokemon."

"Let's give it a crack then." Ash said as he pointed his Pokedex to Pikachu.

" _Pikachu: The Mouse Pokemon. Pikachu has_ _stores electricity in the electric sacs on its cheeks. When it releases pent-up energy in a burst, the electric power is equal to a lightning bolt._ _Known moves; Thunderbolt, Quick Attack."_ The Pokedex said in a robotic, monotonic voice.

"Awesome, so Pikachu knows Thunderbolt and Quick Attack?" Ash confirmed.

"And finally here's Pikachu's Pokeball and some spares for you to catch some more." Oak said giving Ash a handful of Pokeballs.

"Thanks for everything Professor." Ash thanked.

"You're welcome Ash my boy." Oak replied. "Now I think it would be a good idea that you see your mother before you head off on your adventure."

"You're right, I better get on my way before Gary gets a bigger head-start than the on he already has." Ash said. "Alright Pikachu, let's get going. Return."

Pikachu immediately startled at this statement and instinctively jumped out of the way of the red beam. "Pika Pikachu, Pika Pika!" he angrily shouted at his new trainer as he pointed to the Pokeball indicating that detests being confined in a Pokeball.

"Hmm?" Ash muttered in confusion. "Oh I get it! You don't like being in your Pokeball, do you?"

"Pika Pi." Pikachu nodded giving Ash some confirmation.

"Alright then, you don't have to be inside you Pokeball if you don't want to be." Ash said warmly. "You can walk outside with me!"

"Are you sure that's alright Ash?" Oak queried. "Pokemon typically don't tend to stay outside of their Pokeballs."

"Yeah it's fine." Ash confirmed. "I won't force Pikachu to do anything it doesn't want to do."

"Okay then, as long as you're okay with it." Oak said with a sense of doubt.

"Well thanks again for everything. I better get going but I'll be sure to fill you in on everything that's happening." Ash said waving goodbye to the Professor with Pikachu following two or three steps behind.

"Goodbye Ash my boy, have fun on your journey and make sure you record as much information as you can in your Pokedex." Oak called out whilst waving back.

* * *

Ash and Pikachu walked the dirt road back to the Ketchum household with some relatively awkward small talk. Pikachu was still very cautious of Ash and Ash knew that the instant he makes even the slightest misstep, Pikachu will shock him and run off. But Ash was committed to making this work and to help Pikachu overcome his past.

"Alright Pikachu, get ready for some of the best food we're going to get for a while." Ash said encouragingly.

Pikachu just nodded with an empty expression to signal that he was ready to meet his Mum.

"Hey Mum, I'm home," Ash called out as he opened the door and walked right in.

"Right on time, I've just finished breakfast!" Delia replied from the kitchen.

Ash and Pikachu just followed their noses right into the kitchen where a giant spread of food was laid out on the table. This contained plenty of bacon, eggs, pancakes and more!

"Wow Mum, you've really outdone yourself this time." is all Ash could say with all of the drool coming out of his mouth.

"Pikaaaa..." Pikachu was also fixated on the food and was only now understanding what Ash was saying at the front door.

"Well I have to make you a big farewell breakfast before you go away on you're big adventure." Delia said lovingly before turning her attention to Pikachu. "Is this the Pokemon you've chosen Ash? It's so cute!"

"Oh yeah, that's Pikachu. Be careful not to startle it otherwise it'll hit you with Thunderbolt." Ash warned with a mouthful of pancakes.

"Oh my. Well Pikachu, you can help yourself to anything on the table." Delia offered with a friendly grin.

"Yeah Pikachu," Ash said pausing to swallow, "dig in."

Pikachu, who was eyeing off a bottle of ketchup, accepted the invitation taking the ketchup bottle and drinking straight from it whilst cradling on its back.

"Hahahaha you really look like you're enjoying that ketchup there Pikachu!" Ash laughed but those words fell on deaf ears as Pikachu seemed to be somewhere else. "I'll have to remember that when we travel."

"I've taken the liberty of packing you're bag for you while you were out." Delia said as she prepared to eat her first pancake.

"Oh thanks Mum!" Ash thanked as he started to get into the bacon.

"I've packed you everything you could need; sleeping bag, fresh clothes, pyjamas, rope, rubber gloves, toothbrush, toothpaste, a bar of soap..." Delia listed.

Ash zoned out as he was now helping himself to a large serving of eggs. Whenever his Mum does this he never ends up using half the thinks she packs and he was sure this time would be no different. He does admire her ability to fit this into one backpack because whenever he has to repack he always has to throw away some of the more useless items as he can't fit them back in again much to his mother's dismay.

"...thermometer and plenty of pairs of clean underwear." Delia finally finished.

"Got it Mum, thanks." Ash thanked without really knowing what she packed for him. "Anyway, I think it's time Pikachu and I were on our way."

"What?! You're not going to eat anything else?" Delia asked before looking down to see that all of the food is already gone.

After Pikachu had drunk all of the ketchup, he moved on to the rest of the spread and Ash had probably eaten a good 70-80% of the food.

"But this is my first pancake..." Delia muttered feeling defeated. It's not like she isn't used to Ash's incredible appetite but it never ceases to catch her off guard.

"Uhhh… sorry." Ash said insincerely.

"Pika..." Pikachu said following suit.

"No matter, I'll just cook something else for myself after you leave..." Delia commented.

Ash gave a sheepish laugh as he picked up his over-packed backpack and started to head out the front door. Delia and Pikachu followed Ash and they all ended up outside the front door.

"Goodbye Mum." Ash said with a hint of sadness.

Goodbye Ash." Delia responded whilst pulling her son in for one final hug. "Have fun on your journey Ash but above all, stay safe."

"I will Mum." Ash replied.

"I'm going to miss you Ash." Delia said.

"I'll miss you too Mum." Ash said as they both pulled away from the embrace. Ash then started to walk to the town's exit onto Route 1 and turned to wave one last goodbye to his mother. "Bye Mum, I promise I'll keep in touch as often as I can." he called out.

"Bye Ash, take care." Delia then called out as she waved goodbye as well. "Don't forget to change your you-know-what's every day!"

"Uhhh..." Ash muttered in embarrassment.

"Pikakakaka!" Pikachu laughed at his new trainers expense. Pikachu still wasn't completely trusting of his new trainer but so far he seems to be proving himself as a trustworthy person.

Ash and Pikachu walked towards Route 1 to start their journey together. Little do they know that huge adventures await them on the roads ahead.

* * *

 **So, how was it? I'd love to hear what you all have to say. If you have any constructive criticism, I want to hear it! If this chapter is any indication, each chapter will probably be around 4000 words give or take.**

 **You may have noticed that I always said 'the' Pokemon Master implying that there can only be one. That's another difference to the anime where becoming a Pokemon is some sort of vague ambition. In this story there is only one and this Pokemon Master stands above all the regional champions.**

 **Thank you so much for reading and please tell me what you thought. I'll try my best to answer any questions you may have about the series and the next chapter should be out soon.**


	2. The Road to Viridian City

**A/N**

 **I got a pretty good response for the first chapter and I'm motivated to write more. I will try to update this story weekly but I might miss a week every now and then. Without further ado, here is chapter 2.**

* * *

Chapter 2: The Road to Viridian City

" _I'm on the road to Viridian Ciiiityyyy_." Ash was singing excitedly as he walked along Route 1.

Pikachu looked up at him with curiosity as if to question his sanity. Although if truth be told, Pikachu found his lack of singing talent to be quite amusing and the song he was singing was actually pretty catchy.

" _We've built a team and we've been training all day looong_ , _looong._ " Ash continued to sing poorly.

Ash and Pikachu had been walking along Route 1 for a couple of hours now and this time had been killed by singing and the occasional chat. In this time, Pikachu had discovered that Ash was a pretty funny guy and was very easy to laugh at, which he was starting to do now.

"Haha, are you enjoying my singing Pikachu?" Ash asked sarcastically. Ash knew that singing wasn't exactly his forte, but he still enjoyed it nonetheless.

"Pika Pi." Pikachu responded with a shake of the head. Pikachu was definitely warming up to Ash but was still cautious, keeping the fact that they have only known each other for a few hours in the back of his mind.

"Aww, that's not nice," Ash joked light-heartedly. "Hey, do you want to take a break over there by that tree?" he then asked.

Pikachu gave a quick nod to indicate that a rest would be nice, as he was getting fairly tired from all this walking.

"Alright then," Ash said has he took his bag off and sat up against the tree. "Let's just lay down here for a while. Do you want anything to eat Pikachu?" he asked. "I'm not exactly sure what's in this bag of mine but I'm sure Mum would've packed some food for us to eat."

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded.

Ash grabbed his bag and unzipped it to see what was inside and as to be expected, it was full to the brim. How his Mum stuffed all that stuff in there was beyond him and now he had to carefully manoeuvre everything to see all of its contents without taking anything out so that he didn't have to repack it all. After rummaging through his bag he finally came across a semi-transparent lunch box. Upon opening the lunch box, they discovered that it contained several sandwiches which were perfect for a quick snack.

"I'm afraid we don't have any ketchup Pikachu but we have a few sandwiches." Ash informed as he passed the Mouse Pokemon a sandwich.

"Pikaaa!" Pikachu thanked as he gratefully accepted the sandwich.

"No problems," Ash said. Just before he Ash was about to take his first bite he saw some movement in the corner of his eye which caught his attention. He turned around and noticed that a plump bird with brown feathers, a cream underside and black, angular markings around its eyes, had landed fairly close to their tree. "It's a Pidgey!" he excitedly exclaimed as he grabbed his Pokedex out of his pocket and scanned it.

" _Pidgey: The Tiny Bird Pokemon. Pidgey is extremely docile and easy to capture. It is perfect for beginning trainers to test their strength."_ The Pokedex informed.

Ash stared at the Tiny Bird Pokemon for a while before a wide grin had spread across his face. "I'm gonna catch it!" he declared as he unclipped an empty Pokeball from his belt and threw it at the unsuspecting Pokemon.

Pidgey however, had other plans it seems as it just batted the Pokeball back at Ash with ease and went back to foraging for food.

"Oh yeah, I should have probably weakened it first," Ash remembered. "Hey Pikachu..." he began to call out before he saw that Pikachu was sitting up on a tree branch, eating his sandwich and was once again in another place. "Never mind, I'll do it myself." he muttered to himself. "There must be something in that bag that could help me out here." Ash thought to himself as he once again rummaged through his backpack. "This could work!" he suddenly exclaimed as he pulled out a blanket.

Ash carefully crept up towards the Pidgey with blanket in hand and a plan in mind. It wasn't until Ash was right up close to the Tiny Bird Pokemon that it noticed his presence at which point it just stared up at him in curiosity. Ash also stood there motionless for a moment so he wouldn't scare it off at the last second.

"Ah… hey there Pidgey..." Ash spoke gently, trying not to startle it. Several more seconds passed before Ash decided to make his move. "You're mine!" yelled Ash as he pulled the blanket down on the Pidgey as quickly as possible to trap it.

Pidgey struggled violently in an attempt to break free from the blanket but Ash had a firm grasp on the Tiny Bird Pokemon and wasn't about to let go now.

"Come on Pidgey, stop squirming," Ash gritted out between his teeth. "Just make this easier for both of us."

As Ash said this he could feel an enormous amount of pressure push back up against him. This pressure continued to build up until it finally overcame the force of Ash's weight and sent flying a short distance away along with the blanket. Evidently, this Pidgey had just used Gust. As soon as Pidgey was free from Ash's grasp it fired off a Sand Attack to send him rolling over backwards. Pidgey was then satisfied that it was safe from danger and promptly flew away.

"Ugh!" Ash grunted as he was hit with the Sand Attack. "That did not go to plan."

Pikachu had only caught the last bit of that ordeal as he was so engaged with his sandwich that he wasn't really paying attention to what was happening. But the Mouse Pokemon knew that he saw the best part and was now laughing hysterically at his trainer.

"Well I see you've come back to the land of the living. At least you found that entertaining." Ash mumbled. "Now, where did that blanket go?"

"Is this the blanket you're looking for?" a female voice asked from behind the bushes as she held out Ash's blanket.

"Ah, yeah that's the one." Ash confirmed as he received his blanket back from the mysterious young girl. "Thanks for that. I'm Ash by the way."

"No worries Ash. My name is Green. Nice to meet you." she replied introducing herself. Green was a young girl, no older than Ash and had long brown hair, blue eyes and was wearing a sky blue sleeveless shirt, a short, red skirt and a white hat with a red half Pokeball design on it. "I saw you trying to wrestle that Pidgey back there and I have to say it gave me quite the laugh!" she added with a small chuckle.

"Oh, you saw that too?" Ash replied with a hint of embarrassment.

"Yep," Green confirmed. "I honestly have no idea what you were thinking! I certainly wouldn't have done that, although I can't say I'm a huge fan of flying type Pokemon."

"Well I would have asked Pikachu to help me but uhhh…" Ash tried to explain as he looked up at Pikachu who was back in his own little world eating his sandwich. "Apparently it was lunch time..."

"Hehehe. You two make a good pair," Green commented.

Ash contemplated that statement. Do they really have that sort of connection already? Pikachu has definitely seemed to warm up to him as the day has progressed. "Do you really think so?" he eventually asked. "Only time will tell," he then said answering his own question without waiting for a response. Whilst he was thinking about this, he resumed his post at the base of the tree and was once again ready to dig into his lunch.

"Hey, how many sandwiches do you have?" Green suddenly asked. "You wouldn't mind if I had some, would you? I'm starving."

"Go for it, I've got about six more of them," Ash replied after a quick count.

"Thank you," said Green as she accepted a sandwich from Ash and then proceeded to take her first bite. "So, you seem like a rookie trainer. Is that right?" she asked.

"Yeah, Pikachu and I started our journey today but just you wait. Give me a couple of years and I'll be the Pokemon Master," Ash said confidently.

"Then it seems we will be rivals at the Indigo Plateau this year," Green commented. "Don't expect me to go easy on you though."

"I wouldn't want you to," Ash replied with a determined grin spread across his face.

"Great, that's how my rivals should be," Green added with a confident smile, not unlike Ash's as she finished off her sandwich. "Could you pass me another sandwich?" she then asked.

"I would if there were any left," Ash answered. "But I ate them all."

"Are you kidding me!?" Green yelled in frustration. "There were five left… and I'm still hungry..."

"Uhh… sorry," Ash said sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it," Green replied feeling defeated. "Anyway, I'll let you and Pikachu get back to you're journey," she then said as she looked up at Pikachu, who was no longer eating and had his eyes fixated on Green.

"Alright, I'll see you around," Ash called out with a quick wave.

"See ya!" Green said as she picked up her bag, and went on her way. She walked away from that encounter rather happily despite not getting the food she wanted. "Now that I know that this kid is happy with the way things happened today, I don't have to feel guilty about the fact that I stole Bulbasaur from Professor Oak's lab," she said to herself with a sigh of relief as she continued on her way to her next destination.

* * *

A couple of hours had passed since Ash had met Green and he and Pikachu had finally decided that they had had enough of a break. Unbeknownst to them, a passing storm was about to hit them with dark clouds rolling over from the east.

"Alright Pikachu, let's get going," Ash said after a quick stretch.

"Pikaaaaa," the Mouse Pokemon yawned.

As the two of them got up, they noticed some movement in the corner of their eyes and they turned around to see what appeared to be the silhouette of a small, bird-like Pokemon.

"Hey Pikachu, that Pidgey is back!" Ash declared. "Would you help me catch it?"

Pikachu had no intentions of doing so however, after seeing how funny the first failed attempt was and he indicated this to Ash with a shake of the head whilst pointing and laughing at Ash.

"I see how it is," Ash muttered. "Fine, you just sit there and watch me do all of the work," he told Pikachu as he picked up a rock and threw it directly at Pidgey.

However, it was not a Pidgey that Ash threw the rock at. Instead a small brown bird with red wings looked up enraged with a large bump protruding from the top of its head where the rock had struck it.

Pikachu had found this rather entertaining and was interested to see what would transpire next.

"That's.. not Pidgey..." Ash noted nervously as he pulled out his Pokedex to identify the Pokemon.

" _Spearow: The Tiny Bird Pokemon. Unlike_ _the much gentler_ _Pidgey, Spearow has a_ _wild and aggressive personality,_ _and will sometimes attack other Pokemon and humans._ " the Pokedex informed.

Pikachu and Ash had both very quickly been put on edge by that statement knowing that there was a very real possibility that they were about to be attacked.

"Ahh… sorry Spearow..." Ash tried to apologise as he slowly backed away. "I thought you were a Pidgey. It was an honest mistake, I swear."

Ash continued to cautiously back off whilst maintaining eye contact to make sure that he doesn't provoke the Spearow, who was looking right back at Ash with a furious look in its eyes. However, because Ash wasn't paying attention to where he was walking, he stepped on a fallen branch, snapping it. This sudden noise set the Spearow off as it took off and flew right into the centre of Ash's chest, causing him to fall backwards.

"Ugh," Ash grimaced as he hit the ground. As he recovered from the impact he looked up to see where Spearow had gone.

However, Spearow was nowhere to be seen. This concerned both Ash and Pikachu, who had climbed back onto his branch for safety. After several moments had passed they both saw the Spearow make a beeline for Pikachu.

"Hey! Leave Pikachu alone!" Ash called out desperately. "Pikachu didn't throw that rock at you, I did!"

This went unheard by Spearow as it continued to head straight towards Pikachu who managed to get out of the way just in time. This didn't faze the Tiny Bird Pokemon who turned around and went in for round two.

Pikachu knew what it needed to do in order to protect himself. "Pikaaaaachuuuuuu!" he cried as he unleashed a powerful Thunderbolt onto the Spearow, landing a super effective hit.

Spearow was fried and it fell to the ground with electricity coursing through its body. But even though it was down, it certainly wasn't out. "Speeeeaaaarroooooowww!" it let out an ear-splitting shriek, as it called for the help of its comrades.

"Uh-oh, this can't be good," Ash muttered.

Ash and Pikachu looked on helplessly as hundreds of angry Spearow ascended from behind the tree line. All of them had the intent to kill the both of them and they were both well aware of that fact.

"PIKACHU, RRRUUUUUUUUNNN!" Ash yelled out desperately as he turned tail, and legged it.

Pikachu didn't need to be told twice as he followed Ash in running down the dirt road away from their pursuers.

The Spearow followed them relentlessly and they occasionally dived in to attack them. Ash unsuccessfully tried to swat them away when they came for him, whilst simultaneously acting as a makeshift human shield for Pikachu to spare him from receiving the full force of this assault. It could never last forever though, and finally one Spearow flew around Ash and thudded into Pikachu's side causing him to hit the deck hard.

"NO, PIKACHU!" Ash called out worriedly as he swooped down to pick up the injured Mouse Pokemon. "Don't worry, I'll protect you," he reassured.

"Pi ka," Pikachu weakly responded.

Ash continued to run from the unrelenting attack of the Spearow and tried to fight them off when possible. Ash was taking a real beating here and he knew that he could not keep running forever and that the Spearow still had enough energy to keep chasing them. To make a bad situation worse, they were coming up to a cliff. They were trapped and now they must make an impossible choice; either stay put and fight the Spearow, or jump into the lake below. Neither option guaranteed their survival but Ash had made up his mind.

"Pikachu, you have to trust me," Ash weakly told Pikachu. "We have to jump, but I will protect you."

"Piiika," replied Pikachu weakly.

Ash clutched Pikachu tightly in his chest as he took a deep breath and launched himself off the cliff's edge. He landed in the water feet first and immediately started kicking his legs in order to resurface as quickly as possible. Unbeknownst to Ash, a small fishing hook had be caught in his jacket.

* * *

On the water's edge, a young girl was enjoying a day of fishing. This young girl's name was Misty and she too was ten years old. Misty had red hair that was tied into a side ponytail and had cerulean blue eyes. She was currently wearing a yellow sleeveless shirt that left her midriff uncovered, blue denim shorts held up by red suspenders and red tennis shoes.

"Ahhh this I so relaxing," Misty said to herself. "But I wish I could catch something."

Almost as if it were on cue, Misty felt a large pull on her fishing rod and judging by how heavy it was, it was a big one!

"Alright! This must be a Gyarados or something like that!" Misty exclaimed as she used all of her force to pull up her catch.

With a mighty effort, Misty managed to pull out what she thought would be a Pokemon but much to her surprise, it was actually a young boy.

"Oh, it's just a kid," she muttered in disappointment. "Oh wait, there's a Pikachu!" she exclaimed as her eyes lit up. "Are you okay?" she asked tenderly as she walked up to the kid and his Pikachu.

"Uh, yeah I'm fine," Ash panted in exhaustion.

"No, not you!" Misty retorted as she slapped Ash across the face. "Your Pikachu. How could you do that to your poor Pokemon?"

Ash flinched momentarily before he rubbed his cheek to help relieve the pain. "I would never hurt Pikachu!" Ash yelled back at the young girl for having the nerve of accusing him of Pokemon abuse.

"Then how could you let get into such a bad condition? You must be a pretty bad Pokemon trainer," Misty snide back.

"Grrrr. I don't have to explain to you. I don't have the time to anyway." Ash told the red-head. "I need to take my Pikachu to safety where he can receive some medical attention. Do you know where I can find a place like that?"

"Hmph! You'll find Viridian City's Pokemon Centre if you follow this road." Misty told him, pointing to a dirt road.

"Thanks," Ash said before he heard a familiar screech. He turned around to see the flock of Spearow had just located them again. "Damn! Those guys are persistent!" he exclaimed before he noticed a bike leaning against a tree and proceeded to get on, placing Pikachu in the basket on the front.

"Hey that's my bike!" Misty exclaimed as she watched the young boy ride off down the road.

"I'm just borrowing it!" Ash called out over his shoulder. "I'll give it back someday!" he added as he put his head down and accelerated down the dirt road.

"The nerve of that kid!" she gritted out in anger. She noticed the flock of Spearow flying overhead in the same direction as the kid and his Pikachu. She also noticed that the storm clouds were approaching fairly quickly. "It looks like that storm is going to hit any minute now. I guess I better find some shelter," she said to herself.

* * *

Ash continued to peddle at full pelt. He could feel the fatigue building up in his legs but he knew he couldn't slow down. "Don't worry Pikachu. We'll be at Viridian City in no time," he reassured.

"Pi… ka," Pikachu replied with a weak nod.

Ash and Pikachu were beginning to feel drops of water on their skin. The storm had finally arrived. The rain was getting heavier and heavier, to the point that the dirt road had quickly turned into mud and their vision had been obscured. Because of this, Ash hadn't noticed that they were approaching a small ledge and flew straight over it unprepared causing him to land awkwardly, and subsequently fall of the bike.

"Dammit! Not now!" he grunted in frustration. He knew it was only a matter of time before the Spearow caught up to them again. He looked over at Pikachu who was battered and bruised and knew his only option.

Overhead, the Spearow were circling around them with menacing looks. Lightning struck all around them and they knew that they had their target trapped now.

"Pikachu, I need you to get into your Pokeball," Ash told the Mouse Pokemon as he grabbed his Pokeball and sat it down beside him.

"Chuuu..." Pikachu responded weakly, shaking his head.

"I know you don't like it, but it's the only way I can protect you," Ash explained. "If you're safe, then that's good enough for me," he said with a hint of a smile on his face.

Pikachu looked on, scared at what it was that his trainer was about to do.

Ash stood up with a look of pure determination. He faced the flock of Spearow and had his arms spread out in defiance. Ash was well aware that he could very well be facing death straight in the eyes but he didn't care. No, he didn't have the right to care. This was the only way to keep his promise, and he would put it all on the line if it was required, as it was at this very moment.

"Listen up Spearow! Do you know who I am? My name is Ash Ketchum from the Town of Pallet, and I am destined to become the World's Greatest Pokemon Trainer! I can not be defeated by the likes of you! Not now! Because you made one fatal mistake. You hurt my friend. For that, I will defeat every last one of you! Mark my words." Ash yelled out in a mighty declaration against the Spearow.

Pikachu could only watch on in pure amazement. He saw that this young boy was willing to throw his life away in order to protect him. Maybe all humans weren't so bad after all. It was at this defining moment that Pikachu had decided that he would protect Ash in the same way Ash would protect him and with this resolve, Pikachu managed to find some energy within himself for one final attack.

"Do you hear me?! THEN COME AND GET ME!" Ash screamed defiantly at the flock.

The Spearow had heard enough of this kids taunts and they dived at the kid at full speed with the intent to kill.

For Pikachu, time slowed down and he knew exactly what to do. He climbed up Ash's back and jumped off of his shoulder towards the flock of angry Spearow.

"Pikachu, NOOO!" Ash called out helplessly.

Whilst in mid-air, a bolt of lightning had come down and struck Pikachu, super charging his next attack.

"PIKAAAACHUUUUUU!" he yelled as he unleashed a massive Thunderbolt, indiscriminately striking down everything in front of him. Pikachu then fell to the ground in exhaustion, unable to stand himself up.

"Woah… Pikachu..." was all Ash could say as he too collapsed from exhaustion.

The two looked at each other with weak smiles. They both knew at that instant, that they had found a life long partner in one another. They looked above to see that the storm clouds were beginning to clear up, and in the blue sky a magnificent bird with a rainbow glow was flying majestically.

"What's that?" Ash weakly asked, as he pulled out his Pokedex to scan it.

" _There is no data. Some Pokemon are yet to be identified._ " the device informed.

"Well there you go," Ash commented as he and Pikachu continued to watch the Pokemon fly over the horizon.

After the majestic bird Pokemon disappeared, Ash and Pikachu both drifted into unconsciousness, finally succumbing to their exhaustion.

* * *

No man witnessed this event, however one Pokemon did. The Rainbow Pokemon, Ho-oh, had witnessed the entire ordeal. It would have been impossible to notice with an untrained human eye, but there was no denying what that young boy just did. He had just unconsciously used aura. There was an unmistakable blue glow that emanated from his eyes which gave his Pikachu an added boost in power which was responsible for the sheer power of its Thunderbolt. If one were to combine his aura and his conviction, it could be easily deduced that this was the son of Red Ketchum, and with this knowledge, Ho-oh knew that he was destined for great things.

* * *

 **Thanks to everyone who read this chapter. Just to clarify something from last chapter, Alain is the same Alain from the Mega Evolution Specials, but he will have a much different role in this story. Be sure to review and leave questions, constructive criticism or just general compliments as they will help me grow as a writer, which will provide a better story for you guys.**

 **Until next time, see ya!**


	3. Pokemon Emergency

**A/N**

 **As promised, here is Chapter 3. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 3: Pokemon Emergency

Ash and Pikachu had been lying unconscious on the dirt road in the outskirts of Viridian City for a couple of hours. The sun was setting on what had been an extremely eventful day as they both started to stir awake from their afternoon slumber.

"Hey Pikachu," Ash smiled weakly. "You were awesome."

"Pika… pi," the Mouse Pokemon responded, still unable to stand itself up. It seems the events of the past eight hours or so had really taken its toll on his body.

"Don't exert yourself buddy. Let me carry you," Ash offered as he gingerly got to his feet, and picked up his exhausted Pokemon.

"I see you two are finally awake," a familiar female voice called out.

Ash immediately turned around to see that Green was sitting on a large rock, just off the to the side of the road. Pikachu also saw her and was eyeing her off cautiously. Apparently his distrust for humans hadn't completely disappeared just yet. But for the meantime, he felt safe as his battered body was in the arms of his completely trustworthy trainer.

"I hope you didn't like that bike, because I don't think you'll be using it any time soon," she joked as she pointed towards Misty's bike, which was now completely fried and charred.

"Oh no," Ash sighed as soon as he saw it. "That red-head is going to kill me. Anyway how long have we been out for Green?" Ash asked as he looked at the bright orange sky.

"I've been here for about an hour," Green answered. "But I found you like this, all bloodied up and out cold. I was worried that you might have been dead for a second. What happened to you guys anyway?"

"We were attacked by a flock of angry Spearow," he succinctly informed. "Do you know where the closest Pokemon Centre is? Pikachu needs help."

"We're pretty much just outside Viridian City," Green replied. "It's just over that hill."

"Alright then, let's go," Ash sighed, still recovering from the attack as well.

Green agreed with a sympathetic nod as she followed Ash up the hill and into Viridian City. She could tell that Ash was worried about Pikachu and she doubted that she could understand what was going through his mind right now.

* * *

Ash and Green walked to Viridian City in silence, each contemplating things they had experienced throughout the day, and what their next move was. It was only about a twenty minute walk from where they were to they are now, in the heart of Viridian City. The sun was almost down and as such, the street lights were on and the streets themselves were fairly empty. Viridian City wasn't exactly a place you wanted to be alone at during the night, as it was infamous for having the highest crime rate in the Kanto region. More often than not, the perpetrators of these crimes were Team Rocket Grunts who were either stealing Pokemon, money or all of the above. They were crawling around these streets at night and you would always be able to feel the tension in the air.

On this night, Ash and Green were being watched by three of Team Rocket's Top Agents, Jessie, James and Meowth. Jessie, who had long, scarlet-red hair, and the blue-haired James, were generally the brawn of the operation whereas Meowth, a small white cat Pokemon, was the brains. These three had orders to monitor anybody walking into the city to assess whether or not it was worth robbing them. Staring through their binoculars, Meowth noticed something of interest.

"Hey guys," Meowth whispered to avoid garnering any unwanted attention.

"Yes Meowth," James inquired.

"What is it?" Jessie asked.

"Take a look at that Pikachu. Doesn't it look familiar?" Meowth inquired.

"I don't know. Where would I know it from?" James asked curiously.

"Now that you mention it, it does look rather familiar," Jessie said as she reached into her bag and pulled out a bunch of posters. After flicking through them quickly, she found the one she was looking for and handed it to James. "That Pikachu is the one that Dr Zager was experimenting on. Unfortunately, a few idiots let it escape, leaving us without the results of his experiments," Jessie explained.

"So tell me James, does that Pikachu look like the one we're looking for?" Meowth asked.

James took a good long look at the poster before taking a look through the binoculars at Ash's Pikachu. "Yeah, without a doubt. It's the same one," he confirmed.

"Then let's go grab it then," Jessie said with an evil grin.

* * *

"Here it is Pikachu. It's the Pokemon Centre," Ash pointed out. "Let's get you all healed up," he added as he and Green walked through the entrance and up to the front desk.

"Hi, welcome to the Pokemon Centre. My name is Nurse Joy, how may I help you?" the pink haired nurse greeted.

"Hi Nurse Joy, it's just my Pikachu has been hurt real bad. Can you help it?" Ash asked hopefully.

"Understood. This is a serious situation. Chansey! Get the stretcher, stat!" Joy called out as she got herself prepared for some emergency treatment.

In response to Nurse Joy's orders, a pink ovoid Pokemon with short, stubby arms and legs and an egg housed inside a pouch on its stomach, came out from the back room whilst pushing a stretcher. Nurse Joy, who was now fully prepared for emergency treatment, came around the front desk and placed Pikachu on he stretcher.

"Don't worry, we'll take good care of your Pikachu," Joy reassured as she and Chansey headed into the back room.

"I'm sure Nurse Joy will do a great job in helping your Pikachu," Green consoled Ash, who was looking quite down on himself.

"Yeah, you're right," Ash muttered. "I think I'm going to call my Mum to let her know I'm okay," he then decided, walking slowly towards the video phones.

"Good idea, I'm sure she'd love to hear from you," Green agreed.

Ash sat down and dialled the telephone number belonging to his house at Pallet Town. It rang a few times before Delia Ketchum answered the video phone in her evening gown.

"Ah, Ash!" she answered excitedly. "I didn't expect to hear from you so soon. Where are you calling from?"

"The Pokemon Centre in Viridian City," Ash answered.

"You're already in Viridian City?! It took your father twice as long to get there," Delia exclaimed. "Although, he really did enjoy taking his time."

At the mention of Ash's father, both Ash and Delia became quite sombre.

"It's been three years since he passed away. I still miss him Mum," Ash said, tearing up slightly.

"I know honey. But you know you were the apple of his eye," Delia reassured in a warm. Motherly tone.

"A rotten apple. I couldn't even protect my Pikachu for a day," Ash said frustratedly. "We were attacked by a flock of Spearow and Pikachu got beaten up pretty badly."

"Don't worry, I'm sure Pikachu will be fine and I'm sure you'll learn from this experience," Delia assured. "Once you and Pikachu learn to work together, there will be nothing that can stand in your way and you will fly like a Pidgeot" she encouraged.

"Yeah I guess you're right," Ash said, feeling a bit better.

"That's what I like to hear!" Delia cheered. Suddenly, she heard an egg timer and knew that she had to move fast. "Oh, it sounds like my cake is ready to come out of the oven. I'll talk to you soon Ash. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Ash said as he hung up the phone. After that confidence boosting chat, Ash's mind began to drift and he started thinking about that mysterious Pokemon he saw earlier that day. With his curiosity getting the better of him, he decided to see if Professor Oak would have any answers and promptly dialled in his number. It didn't take long before the Professor answered.

"Ah, Ash my boy. I see you've made it to Viridian City in one piece," Oak exclaimed.

Green was standing in the background watching Ash talk to these people before she quickly realised that the person he was talking to was the same person she stole a Pokemon from and so she decided to shrink into an area out of view from the camera.

"I knew you would make it there by nightfall. I must say I had my doubts that you could connect with Pikachu but it seems that everything turned out alright," Oak admitted. "Anyway Ash, Gary and I had a little wager. He bet me a million bucks that you couldn't catch Pokemon before you reached Viridian City, and I of course had full faith that you could!"

"Errr… money isn't everything right?" Ash said sheepishly.

"Oh… I see..." Oak hung his head down in despair as he understood the gist of what Ash was saying.

"Anyway Professor, I called you to see if you could help me identify this Pokemon I saw," Ash explained. "You see, the Pokedex said it had no data on it."

"Could you describe this Pokemon for me Ash?" Oak asked curiously.

"Well I didn't get a great look at it, but it looked like a huge bird that had this rainbow glow around it," Ash described.

"Hmm… I've heard rumours of a Pokemon like that," Oak said as he was deep in thought. He then grabbed a folder and quickly flicked through it until he found what he was looking for. "Did it look like this?" he asked as he showed Ash an image of the same Pokemon he saw majestically flying through the sky earlier that day.

"Yeah, that's the one!" Ash confirmed.

Green saw this picture and could feel her heart rate rise quickly. Even though she was only looking at a small picture from a fair distance, she was still trembling with fear at the unmistakable picture of a Ho-oh. "D-did he r-r-really see th-that Pokemon? T-then it can't b-be t-t-too far away f-from here." she stuttered.

"Ash I believe you may have seen the legendary Pokemon Ho-oh," Oak informed. "Consider yourself very lucky as many people could search their whole life and never see that Pokemon."

"Wow really? That's awesome," Ash gasped. "Thanks Professor."

"You're welcome," Oak replied before he heard a few beeping noises. "Ah, my tofu is done! I gotta go Ash, take care!" he exclaimed hurriedly before hanging up.

Ash had a quick laugh at the Professor's antics before moving on. He definitely felt a lot better after those two quick phone calls. But that wasn't going to last forever.

"Now I've got you!" a very angry voice called out.

Ash turned around slowly knowing exactly whose voice that was.

"I thought I might find you here!" Misty shouted, holding the charred remains of her bike over her head.

"What happened to you bike?" Ash asked sheepishly in a futile attempt feign innocence.

"What do you mean? YOU happened to my bike when you stole it!" Misty yelled.

"Oh yeah that's right. It's actually a pretty funny story..." Ash begun to explain.

"I don't care about your story, I just want a new bike!" Misty demanded.

"I told you I'd give it back some day," Ash told her. "But I can't pay you back today because I'm waiting for Pikachu to get better," Ash explained. "Also, I'm flat broke."

Misty's suddenly showed some concern as she remembered the condition that Pikachu was in when they met on Route 1. "How is it?" she asked.

"Not well, It's currently receiving emergency treatment. Anyway, I think we got off on the wrong foot, my name's Ash. What's yours?"

"I'm Misty," she introduced. "I hope it's okay."

Ash and Misty's conversation was then interrupted by a loud ding, which was then followed by Nurse Joy and Chansey wheeling Pikachu in from the emergency room. Ash, Misty and Green, who had finally snapped back into reality because of the loud ding, had then rushed towards them, eagerly awaiting some sort of update on Pikachu's condition.

"How's Pikachu doing, Nurse Joy?" asked Ash hopefully.

"Pikachu's doing just fine," Joy replied with a warm smile.

Ash, Misty and Green all breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the good news.

"It just needs a good nights rest, that's all," Joy continued. "We were going to wheel it into the recovery ward so we could monitor it overnight." she explained kindly. "You should go in with it."

"Thank Nurse Joy," Ash said gratefully. "How are you doing Pikachu?" he asked, looking down at his Pokemon with a warm smile.

Pikachu answered his trainer with a weak smile and a nod, indicating that he was doing just fine.

"That's great Ash!" Green said happily.

Unfortunately, their conversation was once again interrupted, this time by two Pokeballs crashing through the glass ceiling and releasing two Pokemon once they hit the ground. One of them was a purple Pokemon consisting of two spherical heads, covered in craters, called Weezing, and the other was a large purple, hooded serpent called Arbok. Upon being released, Weezing released a Smokescreen to obscure the view of everyone In the Pokemon Centre.

"Hey! What's going on?!" Ash called out, demanding answers.

Once the smoke cleared, three figures revealed themselves. Two were wearing white uniforms with a large red 'R' emblazoned on their chest, and the other was a Meowth standing itself up on two legs.

"Who are you guys?" Ash asked.

"I'm glad you asked," the blue-haired man replied.

"To protect the world from devastation!" the scarlet-haired woman called out.

"To unite all people within our nation!" the man continued.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!" the Scratch Cat Pokemon concluded.

"Uhhh… what?" Ash uttered in complete confusion.

"Did that Meowth just talk?" Misty asked, seemingly ignoring the bigger picture.

"You better not be ignoring us!" Jessie demanded.

"Guys, these people are from Team Rocket," Green explained with look of genuine concern on her face. "They are the largest criminal syndicate in the Kanto region. In fact, they are so large and powerful that they have have been able to pay off the police to turn a blind eye to their crimes recently."

"So these guys are bad news," Ash deduced, becoming a lot more serious.

"Yes, they are known for stealing or poaching Pokemon to either sell for a profit on the black market, or keeping them to add to their army of powerful Pokemon," Green continued.

"So what do you guys want?" Misty asked.

"We're after that Pikachu," Meowth answered. "Nothing more, nothing less."

"Why do you want my Pikachu?" Ash asked. "Go catch your own."

"Well you see you little twerp, that Pikachu originally belonged to us," Jessie explained.

"So really we're just retrieving it," James added.

"Oh yeah, I remember the Professor saying something like that. But that doesn't mean I'm going to give it back!" Ash declared. "Why do you want my Pikachu anyway? Just go find another."

"Well you see, that there Pikachu was the test subject of one of our most important experiments, and we would quite like to get some results," Meowth disclosed.

"What did you do to that poor Pikachu?!" Misty asked furiously.

"The great scientist, Dr Zager, managed to do something that no-one before him has been able to do," Meowth began to explain. "He managed to infuse a Light Ball into that Pikachu to amplify its attack power!"

"That's horrible!" Misty exclaimed, visibly disgusted at Pikachu's treatment.

"How could you treat a Pokemon so badly?" Nurse Joy asked.

"I won't forgive you for what you guys did to Pikachu," Ash vowed with his fists shaking in anger.

Green however was strangely emotionless, even as she heard about all the horrible things they have done to Pikachu. She was rather desensitised to Team Rocket's style of cruelty and whilst she felt bad for the Mouse Pokemon, she couldn't help but be a bit curious about whether or not it actually increased its attack power. But now wasn't the time for that, they had to stop these crooks.

Pikachu on the other hand was feeling a whole range of emotions. On one hand, the culprits behind his torturous past were once again attempting to kidnap him, but on the other hand he was feeling quite touched that all these humans were all standing up and trying to protect him. Truth be told, he wasn't even sure whether or not the Light Ball that was infused inside of him actually did make him more powerful, but he was sure that the entire ordeal was extremely painful and that he had no intentions going back to Team Rocket.

"Yeah? And what do you twerps intend to do about it, huh?" James inquired condescendingly.

"We're going to stop you!" Green suddenly declared.

"You're damn right we will! Ash, take Pikachu and get out of here," Misty ordered.

"Great idea," Joy agreed. "Follow me Ash."

Ash didn't like the fact that he couldn't do anything to help, so he begrudgingly followed Nurse Joy with Pikachu still in the stretcher.

"You two little girls think you're going to stop us? Don't make me laugh," Jessie mocked.

"Yep," Green responded confidently.

"Well then, Arbok, get her with Bite!" she ordered, to which the Cobra Pokemon responded by charging at the young girl with full pace.

"Bulbasaur, come on out and use Vine Whip!" Green called out as she threw a Pokeball releasing a blue-green quadruped Pokemon with a green plant bulb growing out of it's back.

Arbok continued to speed towards Green with its mouth open, ready to attack with Bite whilst Bulbasaur launched its Vine Whip back at the Cobra Pokemon and managed to successfully wrap its vines around Arbok's hood and then slam it into the ground.

"Weezing, hit that plant with Tackle!" James ordered.

"Will you guys ever play fair?" Misty scowled. "Starmie, help out Bulbasaur by hitting that Weezing with a Water Gun!" she called out, releasing a silver starfish Pokemon with a red jewel core.

Weezing was charging towards the Seed Pokemon before it was intercepted by a powerful stream of water, which pushed it back forcefully into the wall behind it.

"Well it looks like we have ourselves a little two on two," James observed.

"Indeed. Meowth, run ahead and snatch up that Pikachu," Jessie ordered. "We'll keep these two twerps busy."

"I'm on it!" Meowth affirmed as he walked around the battle area and down the direction Ash and Pikachu fled.

"Dammit!" Misty grimaced knowing that she was unable to do anything about Meowth.

* * *

So your Pikachu doesn't like being in its Pokeball," Nurse Joy asked as she placed a Pokeball onto a strange contraption, known as the Pokemon Transporter, that teleports Pokeballs to another location.

"Yeah, Pikachu hates it," Ash confirmed.

"That's unfortunate because my original plan was to transport Pikachu to the Pokemon Centre in Pewter City where it would be safe," Joy explained. "We'll find another way to get you out of here though, so don't worry. But for now, I need you to help me transport all of these other Pokeballs to Pewter City so those grubs don't get their filthy hands on them."

"You can count on me," Ash assured as he continued to pass Pokeballs to Nurse Joy.

"That's nice," an unusual voice called out. "Whilst you're busy doing that, we'll be busy taking Pikachu."

Ash and Nurse Joy turned around to see that Team Rocket's talking Meowth was standing at the doorway.

"I can't let you do that!" Ash declared as he got into a battle stance.

Pikachu saw this and gathered up all the strength he could muster so he could stand and fight, just like everyone else was doing for him.

"Pikachu, are you sure you're okay to fight?" Ash asked.

"Pikachu, you should be resting," Joy objected.

"Pika!" the Mouse Pokemon reassured the two as he stood in front of Meowth, ready to fight.

* * *

"Use Headbutt, Arbok!" Jessie ordered.

"Intercept with Tackle!" Green countered.

The two Pokemon charged at each other and collided powerfully, however the Cobra Pokemon had managed to push Bulbasaur back due to its sheer size and strength.

"Razor Leaf!" Green commanded.

"Poison Sting!" Jessie retaliated.

As Bulbasaur was moving backwards, it fired razor sharp leaves at Arbok who neutralised the attack by spitting an array of purple, poison tipped darts at the Bulb Pokemon. Both attacks cancelled each other out and left them standing on opposite sides of the field in an intense stare-off.

"Go in for another Headbutt, now Arbok!" Jessie ordered impatiently.

"Bulbasaur, grab it with Vine Whip, and slam it into the ground!" Green called out.

Arbok rushed in for another Headbutt, but having learnt from their past mistake, Bulbasaur waited for its moment to strike, and then wrapped its vines around the Cobra Pokemon and used its momentum to slam it into the ground. Arbok grunted with pain upon hitting the ground.

"Nice work Bulbasaur!" Green commended. "Now put it to sleep with Sleep Powder!"

With Arbok still wrapped up by its Vine Whip, Bulbasaur released a silvery-blue powder from its bulb directly at its opponent. Arbok was trapped and couldn't help but inhale the powder and immediately began to feel its effects as it struggled to hold its eyes open. It wasn't long until it succumbed to its drowsiness and drifted into a deep sleep.

"What are you doing Arbok? Wake up!" Jessie demanded.

"Alright! Way to go Bulbasaur!" Green complimented excitedly.

* * *

"Weezing, use Tackle!" James ordered.

"Counter it with Rapid Spin!" Misty called out.

The two charged in at each other and clashed powerfully and appeared to be in a stalemate, neither Pokemon giving an inch.

"Smokescreen Weezing!" James commanded.

The Poison Gas Pokemon then released a thick black smoke from all of its holes on its body, making it impossible for anyone to see.

"Damn it! I can't see a thing," Misty muttered.

"Now, hit it with Sludge!" James ordered.

Weezing spat out a purple ball of sludge at the Mysterious Pokemon who was unable to dodge with its vision obscured. Starmie took the hit and was thumped towards the ground with considerable speed and landed painfully.

"Starmie, no!" Misty called out. "We have to do something about this smoke. Oh I know!" she exclaimed. "Starmie use Rapid Spin to blow away the smoke!"

The Mysterious Pokemon promptly began to spin quickly, creating a gust of wind which dispersed Weezing's Smokescreen.

"No matter. Tackle it Weezing!" James ordered.

"Stop it with Water Gun!" Misty countered.

Weezing charged in for another Tackle whilst Starmie got into position, and launched a powerful Water Gun at its opponent. The jet of water caused the Poison Gas Pokemon to be propelled backwards and be caught off balance.

"Quickly Starmie, use Psywave while its off balance!" Misty ordered, sensing the opportunity to strike a blow.

Starmie's red jewel began to glow blue, and then the Mysterious Pokemon fired a multicoloured beam of psychic energy at the Poison Gas Pokemon, who was unable to dodge as it was still reeling from the previous attack. Psywave connected with its target and caused Weezing to come crashig down to the ground by James' feet.

"Great stuff Starmie!" Misty commended.

BBBOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!

"What was that?!" Misty asked as she turned around to where the explosion occurred.

They all turned around to see a large amount of smoke coming from the wall behind them.

"Sorry guys, that Pikachu was just too strong for me." Meowth cried out running away from the explosion.

"Hey, Team Rocket!" Ash called out angrily from the large hole in the wall that was revealed after the smoke had dissipated.

"Hmmm… what?" Jessie grunted in annoyance.

"You want to know how strong my Pikachu is? How about I let you experience the results first hand!" Ash yelled. "Thunderbolt 'em Pikachu!"

Pikachu unleashed a powerful Thunderbolt at the five members of Team Rocket who all screamed in pain upon being electrocuted. To make a bad situation worse for Team Rocket, there was still some leftover gas from Weezing's repeated Smokescreens which ignited from the sparks of Pikachu's Thunderbolt and exploded, sending Team Rocket through the walls and flying into the night sky.

"Alright, we did it!" Ash cheered.

"Yeah, we sent Team Rocket flying!" Misty added.

"Your Pikachu is looking much better," Green commented.

"Yeah, but Pikachu still needs lots of rest," Ash said looking down at the Mouse Pokemon.

The three of them then looked around to see the damage that the Pokemon Centre had taken. There were holes everywhere and rubble all around the building.

"Uhhh,,, sorry about all this damage Nurse Joy..." Ash apologised sheepishly.

"This can easily be fixed. All that matters is that we're all safe and that you kept all the Pokemon here safe as well," Joy said calmly.

"Hey, thanks for helping my Pikachu guys," Ash thanked as he turned to Green and Misty.

"Pika," Pikachu also said as he bowed his head in appreciation. Pikachu had learnt a lot today. At the start of the day, he was unwilling to trust any human but then he met Ash who he thought was the exception. Now he knows that people like those in Team Rocket are the exception and that the vast majority of humans are kind-hearted and willing to help.

"It's no big deal," Green responded.

"Don't forget, you still owe me a bike," Misty reminded jokingly. She had started to warm up to Ash after seeing how much he cares about his Pokemon. She did still want a new bike though.

"I did promise I'll get you one some day," Ash said sheepishly. "Anyway, it has been a long day so I think I'll go and get some sleep."

"That's a great idea Ash," Nurse Joy said. "Here, I'll give you each a key to one of our rooms."

"Thanks Nurse Joy," the three of them thanked as the took a key each and headed off to their respective rooms after what had been an extremely eventful day for each of them.

* * *

 **Once again, thanks for reading! I know these chapters have been fairly similar to the original but I have been trying to mix it up as much as possible as well as setting up future plot points. The first major differentiation will be at Pewter City.**

 **L** **et me know what you thought of this chapter and until next time, see ya!**


	4. Forming Forest Friendships

**A/N**

 **Hey guys, Chapter 4 is up as promised. This chapter will be the first in the Viridian Forest and combines a few plot points from 'Ash Catches a Pokemon' and 'Challenge of the Samurai' with some of my own original ideas.**

 **Without further ado, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 4: Forming Forest Friendships

Deep within the Viridian Forest, a young girl, about eight years old was fishing by a lake. This girl had long blonde hair that was mostly concealed beneath a large straw hat, and large brown eyes. She was wearing brown top and bottom tights with a yellow, sleeveless dress that sat over the top of them, and purple boots.

"Pika Pika Pikachu Pi!" frantically exclaimed a Pikachu with a pink flower behind its left ear.

"What is it Chuchu?" the blonde girl asked calmly.

"Pikachu Pika!" Chuchu cried, waving its arms around frenetically.

"Just hold on a minute," the young girl said calmly as she got up and knelt down in front of Chuchu and held her palm up over its head. She had her eyes closed and appeared to be deep in thought. "Understood, let's go." she said after a few moments of silence as she picked up her bag, and ran into the forest.

* * *

"We're finally here! It's the Viridian Forest!" Ash exclaimed excitedly.

It was 12 o'clock on Day 2 of Ash's adventure, and Ash and Misty had been walking for about an hour and now stood at the entrance to the Viridian Forest. Earlier that morning Ash had registered to be apart of the Pokemon League for that year and became eligible to take on the official gym leaders around the Kanto region. Ash also awoke to the news that Green had already left to continue her journey whilst he was still sleeping. But for now, Ash and Misty were about to take the next steps of their adventure.

"Do… do we have to go through that forest?" Misty asked nervously. "Couldn't we just take the scenic route around the forest?"

"What do you mean? Of course we have to go through the Viridian Forest," Ash replied. "It's the fastest way to Pewter City and besides, there will be way more Pokemon to catch inside the forest than there is around it."

"Uh… oh… but..." Misty stuttered as she desperately tried to find any excuse not to have to travel through the forest.

"Look," Ash finally said, cutting Misty off. "If you don't want to go through that forest, then fine. Don't. I don't really know why you're following me anyway. But I'm going through that forest and I'm going now." Ash explained. "Ready Pikachu?"

"Pika!" the Mouse Pokemon happily responded before jumping up onto Ash's right shoulder, who was beginning to take his first few steps into the Viridian Forest.

"I'm following you because you owe me a bike!" Misty reminded angrily. "Dammit, wait for me!"

Ash and Misty continued to walk through the luscious forest for about twenty minutes with Misty trailing a few paces behind Ash. In fact, Misty was looking around nervously as if she was expecting something terrifying to emerge from the bushes, and was very cautious as to where she took her next step. Ash was also looking around the forest, although he was looking a lot more eagerly for a Pokemon to capture. Apart from their footsteps, there was a tranquil silence that filled the air, until.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Misty screamed.

"What is it Misty?" Ash asked worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"It's that disgusting 'thing' over there!" Misty shrieked. "It's an icky, sticky, creepy, crawly, slimy, wimey, disgusting, detestable, bug!"

"Huh…? Are you serious…?" Ash asked in disbelief as he turned to see where Misty was pointing. What he saw was a green caterpillar like Pokemon with a yellow underbelly, red antenna, and large black eyes. "Oh cool! It's a Caterpie!" he exclaimed.

"That's not cool, it's gross! Now get rid of it!" Misty ordered.

"Hehe, this thing is not going anywhere. I'm gonna catch it!" Ash said with a glint in his eyes and determined smile spread across his face.

"No, don't do that," Misty pleaded on deaf ears. It was too late as Ash had already made up his mind.

True to form, Ash had his Pokeball drawn and had turned his cap backwards in a display of resolution. "Pokeball, go!" he called out as he threw the empty Pokeball at Caterpie.

The Pokeball flew through the air and hit Caterpie square on the head, and then sucked it up. The Pokeball closed and then proceeded to shake with Ash, Pikachu and Misty looking on with anticipation.

"Come on..." Ash urged with the tension almost too much to bear.

"Please break free and run away to live the rest of your disgusting life away from me," Misty prayed to herself.

After what seemed like forever, the Pokeball stopped shaking and dinged, to indicate that Caterpie had been captured.

"Alright! I just caught my first Pokemon!" Ash cheered as he struck a pose, holding the Pokeball out in front of him.

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu joined in, celebrating Ash's achievement.

"Great..." Misty muttered sarcastically.

"Hey Misty, come check out this Caterpie I just caught," Ash called out as he held out its Pokeball in front of Misty's face.

"Ewwww! Get that thing away from me!" she shrieked.

"You're not scared of Bug Pokemon, are you?" Ash deduced.

"Fine, I admit it. Bugs totally bug me out. They are just so disgusting!" Misty confessed.

"But surely you couldn't be scared of an itty-bitty Caterpie could you?" Ash mocked. "I think it's cute."

"I don't know what you could possibly find adorable about it," Misty replied.

"I think you would get along with Caterpie if you just got to know it a bit better," Ash decided as he called out the Worm Pokemon. "Hey Caterpie, my name is Ash and I'm sure you and I are going to be great friends," Ash smiled.

Caterpie acknowledged Ash with a nod of its head and cooed happily as Ash patted it on the top of its head.

"Let's see what the Pokedex has to say about you," Ash said curiously.

" _Caterpie: the Worm Pokemon._ _Caterpie uses the suction cups on its feet to climb trees and feed on its favo_ _u_ _rite leaves_ _._ _Known moves: Tackle, String Shot, Bug Bite._ " the Pokedex informed.

"Wow, you're a strong little Caterpie aren't you?" Ash praised. "Hey Pikachu, come meet our new friend."

Pikachu came running over to introduce himself to the Worm Pokemon and the two of them seemed to really hit it off.

"Hey Caterpie, I know someone that would love to meet you!" Ash joked as he gestured to where Misty was previously standing to his right. He looked around to see that Misty had quickly scurried behind a tree.

Caterpie turned to see the frightened red-head behind the tree and charged straight at her causing Misty's eyes to widen with fear. Upon reaching Misty, Caterpie started rubbing up and down on her leg affectionately causing Misty to scream.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!" she squealed.

"Hahahahaha! Come on, I think Caterpie really likes you!" Ash joked, finding Misty's phobia of bugs hilarious.

"Get it away from me, it's Disgusting!" Misty squirmed in obvious discomfort.

Upon hearing this, Caterpie began to look extremely disheartened.

"Hey, there's no need to be mean to Caterpie like that," Ash remarked. "It's only trying to be friendly."

"I know but I just can't help it. I really hate Bug Pokemon," Misty whimpered.

At this stage, Ash and Misty were interrupted by a loud swoop, and a large cry from Caterpie. They looked up to see that a brown and cream coloured bird Pokemon with a red feathered crest and black angular marking around its eyes, was attacking Caterpie with a Wing Attack.

"Hey! Leave Caterpie alone!" Ash called out.

The avian Pokemon showed no signs of stopping however and this forced Ash into action.

"Alright Pikachu, protect Caterpie with a Quick Attack!" Ash ordered.

Pikachu sped towards Caterpie's attacker who was charging back with a Quick Attack of its own. The two Pokemon collided powerfully and were at a stalemate in terms of power forcing them both to retreat.

"Urgh, what is that and why is it attacking my Caterpie?" Ash asked, pulling out his Pokedex.

" _Pidgeotto: the Bird Pokemon, and the evolved form of Pidgey._ _It is armed with sharp claws and dives from the sky to capture its prey. Unlike the more gentle Pidgey, Pidgeotto can be dangerous. Approach with extreme caution."_ the Pokedex informed.

"Ash, it's after your Caterpie because Caterpie is its prey and it is lunchtime," Misty explained. "So go Pidgeotto..." she quietly, and somewhat insincerely, egged on Pidgeotto.

"Well that would explain it," Ash said as he noticed that Pidgeotto was swooping in for another Wing Attack. "Get ready Pikachu!"

"Pika!" the Mouse Pokemon responded confidently.

"Alright Pikachu, dodge it as it flies past!" Ash yelled out.

Pikachu nimbly avoided the glowing wing of Pidgeotto and watched it fly past.

"Now, use Thunderbolt!" Ash called out.

Pikachu then released a stream of electricity directly at the Bird Pokemon and was right on target. Pidgeotto squealed it pain as the electricity surged through its body and caused it to fall towards the ground.

Ash sensed the opportunity to catch another Pokemon and was ready to seize it. "Pokeball, go!" he called out once again as he threw another spare Pokeball at the Bird Pokemon, and hit it on its cream underbelly.

The Pokeball sucked up Pidgeotto and began shaking violently. It was a lot more violently than when he caught Caterpie, indicating that it was a much stronger Pokemon. Ash watched on intently as the Pokeball continued to shake… until finally it stopped, and dinged. Ash had successfully captured Pidgeotto.

"Alright, I caught a Pidgeotto!" Ash cheered in joy as he picked up the Pokeball and struck another pose.

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu joined in excitedly.

"We're on a roll here Pikachu, if we can keep up this momentum, I'll be the Pokemon Master in no time!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pika!" the Mouse Pokemon agreed enthusiastically.

"You want to become the Pokemon Master?" Misty asked.

"Yeah, and it's gonna happen one day. No doubt about it," Ash stated confidently.

"Don't get too far ahead of yourself just yet. Sure you might be off to a good start but don't forget that you still need a lot more training to get anywhere close to even challenging the Pokemon Master, let alone beating him," Misty said, delivering a reality check to Ash.

"Yeah, I know," Ash said, still smiling confidently. "But as I said, I'm gonna get there if it takes a day or fifty years."

Misty was in awe of Ash's resolve. Never in her life had she met someone who refused to let anything stand in the way of their dreams like that.

"What about you Misty? Do you have a goal that you're working towards? You're not going to be my rival are you?" Ash asked.

"You don't have to worry about battling me at the Indigo Plateau," Misty answered. "I'm aiming to be the World's Greatest Water Pokemon Trainer!"

"I see," Ash responded. "I don't see any reason why you couldn't do it."

"When you put it that way, I guess there isn't," Misty replied. Again, she was amazed by Ash's confidence. He seemed more to have more confidence in her, than she did in herself. She was dragged out of her thoughts as she noticed that Caterpie had once again snuggled up to her leg, causing her to scream. "AAAAAHHHHH!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Ash laughed hysterically at Misty as she ran down the dirt road of the Viridian Forest.

* * *

Misty easily ran three hundred meters, screaming at the top of her lungs before she realised that she was nowhere near Ash. "Dammit. I just cannot get close to those despicable bugs," she said to herself. She turned around to head back, but as she turned around, she found herself staring directly down the blade of a samurai sword.

The kid holding the sword was in a rather odd outfit, comprising of a black helmet and black and red chest guard. "Greetings, my name is Samurai. Am I speaking to a trainer from the town of Pallet?" he asked.

"No, no, no, not me!" Misty answered frantically.

"Ah, apologies my maiden," Samurai said as he sheathed his sword, much to Misty's relief. "Alas, my search shall continue."

Misty blew a sigh of relief and fell to her knees.

"I would also advise you to stop screaming in the forest. It will only attract the unwanted attention of Beedrill swarms," Samurai informed as he walked off into the bushes.

"What a weird kid. I wonder why he wants to find a trainer from Pallet Town," Misty wondered until she came to the realisation, "Oh wait! Ash is from Pallet Town!" she exclaimed as she quickly got up to her feet and started running back.

* * *

"Do you think we should follow her Pikachu?" Ash asked.

"Pika?" Pikachu shrugged.

"Well knowing how much she hates this forest, she's probably running straight towards the exit, so I think we should for now," Ash decided.

As soon as Ash had said this, he heard a voice call out behind him.

"Greetings, you wouldn't happen to be from Pallet Town, would you?" Samurai asked.

"Yeah, I am actually," Ash answered as he turned around to face the young boy.

"At last. My search is over," Samurai proclaimed as he unsheathed his sword and pointed it directly at Ash's face.

Ash suddenly became a lot more serious and had a stern expression on his face. "If you're thinking of stealing my Pokemon, I won't let you. You don't scare me," Ash declared.

"ASH!" Misty called out as she ran to see Ash and Samurai in an intense face-off. She was too late.

"I am no thief. I am Samurai of the Viridian Forest, and I wish to challenge you to a Pokemon battle," Samurai challenged.

Ash's face suddenly lit up. "Why didn't you just say so?"

"Oh, that was it? What was with the sword?" Misty pondered.

Samurai sheathed his sword and drew his Pokeball. "It will be a one-on-one. How does that sound to you?" he asked.

"Sounds good to me," Ash smiled. Who would he choose though? Pidgeotto and Pikachu were both still pretty worn out from their previous battle, so that only left Caterpie. "Alright Caterpie, you're up," he told the Worm Pokemon, who was still standing beside him.

Caterpie crawled forth onto the battlefield and cried out in determination, as it was out to prove it was no pushover. In fact, the Worm Pokemon had a few tricks up its sleeve that it used when trying to avoid the angry Beedrill of this forest.

"Go Pinsir!" Samurai called out as he released an intimidating, large, brown Bug Type Pokemon that had two white pincers protruding from the top of its head.

"A Pinsir, hey?" Ash mused as he scanned Pinsir with his Pokedex.

" _Pinsir: the Stag Beetle Pokemon. Pinsir's two long pincer horns are powerful. Once they grip an enemy, they won't release until the foe is torn._ " the Pokedex informed.

"Great, two bugs on the field at once..." Misty mumbled.

"Your Caterpie stands no chance against my Pinsir!" Samurai bragged arrogantly.

"I hate to say it Ash, but he's probably right. Pinsir is a much stronger Pokemon than Caterpie" Misty added.

"We'll just see about that," Ash replied confidently. "I have faith in Caterpie."

"Alright then. Pinsir charge with Vicegrip!" Samurai commanded.

"Dodge it, Caterpie!" Ash ordered.

Pinsir ran at the Worm Pokemon pincers-first, ready to clamp down on it. Caterpie had other plans however, as it readied itself to dodge, waiting for the perfect time to do so. As soon as the Stag Beetle got close enough, Caterpie propelled itself into the air with its tail, and safely jumped over its opponent.

"Great work! Now stick those pincers together with String Shot!" Ash called out.

Still in mid-air, Caterpie shot out a sticky string from its mouth and skilfully manoeuvred it around the Stag Beetle Pokemon's pincers, and shut them tight, rendering them useless.

"What?!" Samurai asked in disbelief. He couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. Was his Pinsir actually losing to a Caterpie of all Pokemon.

"Hehe, I bet you didn't expect that did you?" Ash smirked. In all honesty, he didn't expect Caterpie to be able to jump with such agility either. It seems he really did catch a strong Caterpie.

"I'll admit, you've got skill. You truly live up to the standards of the previous trainers of Pallet Town," Samurai commended.

"You mean Gary and Alain have already come through here?" Ash asked.

"Ah yes, those were their names," Samurai confirmed. "They were quite strong Pokemon trainers and managed to defeat me rather easily with Pokemon much stronger than that Caterpie of yours."

"Hey!" Ash retorted.

"But I have trained hard since then," Samurai continued, ignoring Ash. "And I have become stronger in order to face the next fierce challenger from Pallet Town."

"How ambitious..." Misty whispered sarcastically so that no-one could hear her.

"If you want a challenge, I'll give you one," said Ash. "Now use Bug Bite, Caterpie!"

Caterpie propelled itself using its tail once again, but this time he was aiming directly at Pinsir. The Worm Pokemon flew at the Stag Beetle Pokemon, baring its tiny fangs which were glowing a light green. Caterpie hit its target and dug it fangs into Pinsir's right shoulder, causing it to cry out in pain.

"Get a hold of it and use Vital Throw!" Samurai ordered.

Pinsir grabbed Caterpie and yanked it off its shoulder. It then proceeded to throw the Worm Pokemon violently into the ground. Caterpie cried in pain upon impact and took a few moments to get back up.

"Damn, that attack really did a number on Caterpie. I'm not sure it can take another one," Ash mused. "Although Caterpie is surprisingly strong and fast, it's still pretty fragile. Alright Caterpie, use Tackle!"

"Grrrr… what should I do?" Samurai said as he was beginning to panic.

Caterpie thudded directly into Pinsir's torso, who could only stand there helplessly as its trainer was unable to adapt to the battle. The collision caused Pinsir to go flying into a nearby tree.

"Oh no! Pinsir, are you alright!" Samurai asked hopefully.

Pinsir's eyes were whited out and it slumped to the ground, clearly unconscious.

"Pinsir, return," Samurai called out. "I concede defeat."

"Alright! Way to go Caterpie!" Ash commended.

"Wow, I can't believe a Caterpie actually beat a Pinsir," Misty said in disbelief.

Caterpie cried happily at all the praise it was receiving, and it suddenly began to glow white.

"What's happening?" Ash asked as he stared at the glowing Caterpie with wonder.

"It's evolving..." Misty informed with her eyes fixated on the bright light.

Caterpie became more angular and elongated into a crescent shape. The glow dissipated to reveal a light green cocoon like Pokemon.

Ash immediately whipped out his Pokedex to scan his new Pokemon.

" _Metapod: the Cocoon Pokemon_ _and the evolved form of Caterpie. Metapod encases itself in a hard shell to protect itself while it prepares for its next evolution."_ The Pokedex explained.

Ash could hardly contain himself at the sight of his newly evolved Pokemon. "Awesome, you evolved into a Metapod!" Ash exclaimed gleefully.

"What are you so excited about? It's still a bug..." Misty muttered under her breath.

"It appears I am still no match for the fierce trainers of Pallet Town," Samurai said with a hint of disappointment.

"It was still a great battle," Ash consoled as he walked over and extended a hand to Samurai.

"Indeed it was," Samurai agreed as shook Ash's had in a display of respect. "Anyway, it is beginning to get dark. You are welcome to sleep in my cabin tonight," he offered.

"You mean it?" Misty asked, happy not to be sleeping outside with all the Bug Type Pokemon.

"Of course," Samurai confirmed.

"Thanks a bunch, Samurai," Ash thanked.

"You're quite welcome. My cabin is in this direction," Samurai stated as he began to walk off towards his cabin, with Ash and Misty trailing not too far behind.

They were all ready to call it a day after what had been another eventful day for Ash and Misty.

* * *

Hiding behind several dense bushes, two of Team Rocket's top agents were watching Ash and Samurai's intense battle with interest.

"Well, those were some powerful Bug Type Pokemon, weren't they Cassidy?" a green-haired man inquired.

"Yes they were Biff," replied the long-haired blonde, known as Cassidy.

"The name is Butch!" he retorted in frustration.

"Whatever. We should report this to Anthony immediately, and await further instructions," Cassidy advised.

"Shouldn't we just grab them now while we have the opportunity?" Butch asked.

"No. We don't want to draw too much unnecessary attention to ourselves and besides, if we're patient a better opportunity will present itself," Cassidy explained.

"Alright then, we'll go inform Anthony and see what our next move is," Butch conceded.

* * *

Deep within the Viridian Forest, one of Team Rocket's Elite Officers, Anthony, was recoding dome information on one of Dr Namba's experiments. His experiment involved the mind control of Pokemon, and Anthony was using it on a large scale with a swarm of Beedrill as his test subjects. Anthony was a man in his early twenties and he wore a short-sleeved, black, button-up shirt with the Team Rocket emblem stitched onto his left breast pocket. His shirt was tucked into a pair of long black pant and he also sported a straw hat, a large pair of circular glasses with a net strapped to his back.

"Hmm, this mind control thing seems to work wonders," he evaluated. He continued to play with Dr Namba's contraption until he heard two people approach him. "Ah Cassidy, Hutch! Do you have anything to report?" he inquired.

"With all due respect Anthony, my name is Butch," Butch corrected. "But we did see two trainers battle with a Pinsir and an extremely powerful Metapod."

"Yes, and we came here to see what our course of action should be," Cassidy added.

"Interesting, two powerful Bug-Type Pokemon. The Boss would be very pleased," Anthony mused. "Our course of action is obvious. We find out where they are sleeping tonight and ambush them in the morning. Those Pokemon you described are exactly what the Boss is looking for so we must steal them for him."

"Understood," Cassidy and Butch responded.

* * *

"So this is what you were talking about Chuchu?" a blonde girl with a large straw hat asked, as she looked down the road to see that countless numbers of Caterpie and Weedle lay down unconscious.

"Pika…" Chuchu responded solemnly.

The young girl picked up a Weedle and brought it close to her mouth so that it could hear her properly. "Could you explain to me what happened here Weedle?" she asked before closing her eyes in concentration. A few moments of silence passed while the young blonde seemingly nodded in acknowledgement. "So you're telling me that a member from Team Rocket just ravaged through this area and attacked all of the Pokemon here. And that he collected all of the Pokemon that managed to remain conscious. I see," the young girl confirmed as she placed the Hairy Bug Pokemon back on the ground.

This Weedle crawled away injury free despite being unable to stand itself up prior to being picked up by the young blonde. You see, this young girl's name is Yellow, and Yellow is one of the very few people who posses the mysterious powers of the Viridian Forest. This is an extremely rare ability amongst those who were born here. These powers grant her the ability to read the minds of Pokemon, as well as the ability to heal Pokemon with just the touch of her hands

"So, this is the trail of destruction left behind by Team Rocket," Yellow muttered. "What are we going to do Chuchu?" she asked, seemingly overwhelmed by the task ahead of her.

* * *

 **So there you have it, that was Chapter 4. I decided to introduce Yellow from the Pokemon Adventures Manga to the story and she will play a pretty big role in future chapters.**

 **There is also an OC that I have introduced here, Anthony. Essentially I have taken his name from one of the Bug Catchers in the Viridian Forest in Pokemon Fire Red/Leaf Green and his design is a combination of Team Rocket Grunts and the Bug Maniacs from Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.**

 **Anyway, be sure to let me know what you thought of this chapter, and until next time, see ya!**


	5. A Buggy Situation

**A/N**

 **Hi everybody!**

 **( _Hi Dr Nick!)_**

 **I know that I have MIA for a long time and I apologise to those that actually liked my story. I got super busy, then I forgot about it and then I lost motivation and nothing was happening. But with the release of Pokemon Go and Sun and Moon around the corner, I caught the Pokemon bug again and wanted to write again. But enough about that, here's Chapter 5, enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 5: A Buggy Situation

The sun was rising on what looked to be a beautiful day here in the Viridian Forest. The Pidgey were perched upon their trees, chirping happily, and the Bug Pokemon were all feeding on the foliage peacefully. However, this tranquillity was hiding something sinister today as Team Rocket were in position for their ambush on Ash, Misty and Samurai. Cassidy and Butch were strategically placed around the perimeter of Samurai's quaint log cabin, waiting patiently for their targets to emerge.

"How long is this going to take?" Butch complained. "We've been here for hours!"

"Just be patient Bill," Cassidy replied.

"The name's Butch!" the green-haired man retorted angrily.

"Whatever… Anthony instructed us to ambush them in the morning and that is exactly what we will do," Cassidy instructed.

"Alright, fine…" Butch sighed, knowing he really doesn't have a choice but to endure the boredom for now.

* * *

Inside of the cabin, Misty and Samurai were up and starting to get ready for the day. Samurai was cooking up a light breakfast comprising solely of eggs on toast and Misty was packing her bag, preparing for the day ahead. Ash on the other hand, was still fast asleep and snoring loudly, much to Misty's irritation.

"Grrr… would you hurry up and wake up already Ash!" Misty yelled right into Ash's ear, causing him to jolt awake immediately.

"Hey! What's the big idea?!" Ash shouted back, enraged that he was woken up so abruptly.

"It's already 9:30, and I want to get out of this bug infested forest as soon as possible!" Misty snapped back.

Ash however, had already stopped listening to the red-head as the aroma of a freshly cooked meal had wafted into his nostrils and had him captivated. Pikachu was also in a trance, and had been for quite a while. The Mouse Pokemon had not abandoned his post at the base of Samurai's feet since he had started cooking, and was fixated on whatever was in that stove.

"You're unbelievable," Misty sighed upon noticing this. She had known Ash for no more than two days but was already well acquainted to his eating habits.

Ash got up and plonked himself at the table and just sat there expectantly..

"Ah, I see you have awoken Ash. Good morning," Samurai's greeted, as he was serving the meals onto each plate.

"Yeah, good morning Samurai. Whatever you're cooking smells really good," Ash complimented, salivating at the mouth.

"Thank you, but it is merely eggs on toast," Samurai said humbly, as he placed three meals onto the table and one on the floor for Pikachu. "Dig in guys!" he announced. "There's plenty more if you want seconds."

"Gee, thanks Samurai," Misty thanked before taking her first bite.

"MmYeah, This fwood is awesthome!" Ash exclaimed with a mouth full of eggs.

"You are quite welcome," Samurai responded. "So what are your plans for today?"

"Well first things first, we're getting out of this forest as quickly as possible," Misty answered.

"And then," Ash added before pausing to swallow. "And then, we're going to Pewter City!"

"Ah, I see. Then I shall take you to the path that leads to Pewter City," Samurai offered.

"You don't have to," Misty replied.

"It is the least I can do after the fierce battle we had yesterday," Samurai stated.

"Yeah, it was a pretty awesome battle..." Ash trailed off thinking about the previous day's fierce contest. "Anyway, I can have thirds right?"

"THIRDS?!" Misty and Samurai instantly remarked upon learning that Ash had already helped himself to two servings of breakfast, whilst they were still working their way through their first.

* * *

The clock had struck ten, and Ash and Misty were all packed up and ready to go.

"Alright, let's get going," Ash declared as he turned the door handle and stepped outside. As soon he was in the open air, he could immediately tell that there was something in the air that was just 'off'. Call it instinct, but Ash always had the ability to sense when there was some sort of danger present, and there was definitely something sinister in the air.

Misty and Samurai walked out of the door thinking only of the beautiful weather they were blessed with today.

Ash however was on edge. He scoured the tree line for anything out of place. "DUCK!" he yelled out as he quickly crouched down.

Misty and Samurai had no idea what was going on, but followed Ash's lead in a panic. They managed to duck just in time too as a bone flew over the top of the three of them, and curved back into he hands of a Marowak.

"It seems like we missed," a green haired man smirked, as he emerged from the bushes,

"Grrr… who are you, and what do you want with us?" Ash demanded as he got back to his feet.

"Heh heh, because you asked you kindly. Prepare for trouble!" a blonde girl chanted.

"Not this again..." Misty muttered.

"And make it double!"

"To infect the world with devastation!"

"To blight all people in every nation!"

"To denounce the goodness of truth and love!"

"To extend our wrath to the stars above!"

"Cassidy!"

"And Butch of course!"

"We're Team Rocket, circling Earth all day and night!"

"Surrender to us now or you will surely lose the fight!"

"What do you guys want?" Ash asked, as he protectively stood in front of Pikachu.

"We want those powerful Bug Type Pokemon of yours," Cassidy informed.

"Oh, you can have them..." Misty mumbled under her breath.

"No you can't!" Ash shouted. "Metapod is staying with me!"

"And my Pinsir isn't going anywhere!" Samurai yelled. "Why do want our Bug Type Pokemon anyway?"

"Because they're strong," Butch answered. "And Team Rocket is currently looking for strong Bug Type Pokemon to add to our army."

"So we're looking through this forest to find the strongest Bug Types to collect, evolve, and control, so that we can achieve our goal," Cassidy added.

"That's terrible, even for those disgusting bugs!" Misty exclaimed.

"Do not think that we would let you continue this cruelty without a fight! Go, Pinsir!" Samurai yelled as he called out the Stag Beetle Pokemon.

"Yeah, that's right!" Misty agreed. "It's a good thing that we're right next to a small pond, because I call Horsea!" she exclaimed as she threw a Pokeball, releasing a blue seahorse like Pokemon into the nearby pond.

"That's what I like to hear. I've been itching for a little action," Butch smirked. "Are you ready Marowak?"

The brown bipedal Pokemon, with an exposed skull stepped forward, got into a battle stance, and nodded in acknowledgement of its trainer.

"As have I. Nothing ever happens in this boring forest," Cassidy agreed. "Raticate, teach these twerps a lesson!" she ordered as she called out a large orange rodent onto the battlefield.

Ash was strangely quiet during this whole ordeal. He was lost in thought as he was attempting to figure out a plan to rescue all the Pokemon they had already caught. "Hey Misty, Samurai. You two hold these guys off while I try and find where they are keeping the captured Bug Types," he instructed quietly, trying not to alert Cassidy and Butch of his makeshift plan.

"Do you know where they're being kept?" Misty asked.

"Nope. But I gotta do something," Ash answered.

"Alright then. Horsea, use Smokescreen!" Misty commanded.

Hearing its trainer call out, Horsea released a thick, black smoke from its long, tubular mouth which concealed Ash completely for his escape.

"Thanks Misty," he whispered as he and Pikachu ran off into the dense forest for what would seem to be an impossible search.

The smoke cleared and Team Rocket immediately noticed the absence of Ash

"Hey, where did that other brat go?" Butch asked, annoyed with himself for falling for such a simple trick.

"It matters not," Samurai answered.

"You're gonna have your hands full dealing with us so you shouldn't worry about him," Misty added.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ash was running around the Viridian Forest, aimlessly looking for where Team Rocket had stashed away all the Pokemon they had caught.

"Pikachu, can you sense anything?" Ash asked.

"Pika," Pikachu responded, shaking his head.

"Oh, I know! Pidgeotto, I choose you!" Ash called out as he released the Bird Pokemon from its Pokeball. "Hey Pidgeotto, I need you to look for large cage or something like that. Anything that is stuffed full of Bug Type Pokemon."

"Pidgeot tooooo," it acknowledged as it took to the skies to get an aerial view of the forest.

"We should find those Pokemon in no time now," Ash smirked.

Ash continued to run aimlessly for another ten minutes, searching for any signs of poached Pokemon, whether it be tyre tracks, injured Pokemon or even just anything that seemed unusual. Whilst he was doing this, he was continuously looking up at Pidgeotto to see if it managed to find anything. On this occasion he looked up to see that Pidgeotto was flying around in circles above a clearing 400 meters away.

"Pidgeotto must have found something!" Ash exclaimed to Pikachu. "Let's go check it out."

Ash carefully snuck towards this clearing in case there was anyone there. As he approached, he immediately saw a large, steel cage that held many Bug Pokemon prisoner. He also noticed that this cage was being guarded by a spectacled member of Team Rocket who was currently fidgeting with a remote device.

Pidgeotto perched itself onto a nearby tree and was visibly seething in anger upon seeing the captured Bug Type Pokemon. How dare someone defile it's forest so horrifically!

"Don't worry Pidgeotto. I'm going to go set things right," Ash consoled upon noticing the Bird Pokemon's frustrations. "Hey! Just what do you think you're doing to those poor Bug Pokemon?" Ash called out to the mysterious man.

"Hmm? Who are you?" the man in the black suit questioned condescendingly.

"I'm Ash Ketchum. The guy who's gonna take you out." Ash responded.

"That's awfully cocky of you to think so Ash Ketchum. My name is Anthony, and I am one of Team Rocket's Elite Officers." Anthony said introducing himself while still fidgeting with his remote device. "If I were a betting man, I would bet that your bark is bigger than your bite. Would you agree?"

"Nope." Ash replied succinctly. "I'm gonna beat ya!"

"Hahaha! Is that so?" Anthony condescended. "I highly doubt that." he added as suddenly hundreds of yellow and black striped wasps ascended from behind the bushes. "Because I have an army of Beedrill on my side!"

"Oh… I can see why you'd be so confident then..." Ash muttered nervously as he slowly backed away.

Anthony lifted up the remote device to his mouth and ordered "Kill them." to the swarm of Poison Bee Pokemon.

"RUUUUUNNNNNNN!" Ash screamed as he led Pikachu and Pidgeotto through the dense vegetation of the Viridian Forest at full pelt. Without looking back, he ran from the angry hive of Beedrill whilst trying to conjure a plan, but unfortunately, he couldn't see a way out of the situation he found himself in.

* * *

Meanwhile, the mysterious Yellow was making her way up a dirt road, healing all of the unconscious Bug Pokemon that were sprawled helplessly on the forest floor. The young girl couldn't believe that any human being could be the cause of so much unnecessary violence. Yellow is a girl who utterly detests violence of any variety and lives a life relatively free from conflict. Despite her age, Yellow is girl with incredible wisdom, and infinite kindness, but even she couldn't find the strength within herself to forgive the people responsible for this tragedy.

"AAAAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH!" a primal scream echoed through the trees and dragged Yellow out of her thoughts.

"What was that ChuChu?" she asked curiously.

She didn't have to wait long for an answer as a young boy, followed by a Pikachu and a Pidgeotto were sprinting through the forest as if they were being chased. This was not an uncommon occurrence around these parts, and Yellow instantly knew that they were being chased by a swarm of Beedrill. Because of this, she was quite experienced in calming down the swarms of angry Beedrill and was always willing to lend a helping hand to those travelling through the forest. As per the usual protocol, Yellow walked onto the path as soon as the young boy had passed by to get between the Beedrill and the travellers.

"Hey! What are you doing? You're going to get yourself hurt!" Ash called out turning around to face Yellow.

"Don't worry, I do this all the time." the young girl reassured.

Ash gritted his teeth and prepared himself to protect the young girl that had just come out. He knew that there was nothing he could do but trust this young girl if he was going to have a fair crack at Anthony so he could only sit tight and hope for the best.

Seconds later, the Beedrill emerged from the bushes. Yellow was standing with her palms outstretched in front of her and had her eyes closed. She was attempting the read and understand the emotions of the Beedrill. Her eyes instantly opened when she realised that there was something very different about these Beedrill. They were emotionless and there wasn't trace of thought running through their heads.

"Oh no..." she whimpered in fright. This was not something she had ever previously experienced and was now frozen in fear at the premise of looking straight into an uncontrollable swarm of Beedrill.

"What is she trying to do? Quick! Pidgeotto use Gust, Pikachu use Thunderbolt!" Ash quickly ordered to try and protect the little girl.

Pidgeotto flapped it's wings ferociously to produce a powerful gust of wind that blew away several of the Poison Bee Pokemon and Pikachu unleashed a stream of electricity to stun several more. Ash could see this wasn't enough however and noticed that a single Beedrill was heading straight towards the young girl.

"Dammit! Metapod, defend that girl with Harden!" Ash called out as he released Metapod from its Pokeball.

The Cocoon Pokemon emerged from its Pokeball in front of Yellow and glistened as it used Harden. The Beedrill raised its right stinger in preparation to attack, and jabbed it into the left side of Metapod. However, due to Metapod's raised defences, the attack barely had any effect at all, and in fact cracks could be seen the right stinger of Beedrill. The lone Poison Bee Pokemon flew away after its failed attack, but was replaced by three more Beedrill who had managed to avoid the gauntlet thrown down by Pikachu and Pidgeotto.

"Grrr… Alright Metapod, Tackle the one on the middle and use Harden to protect yourself from the other two!" Ash called out, thinking quickly.

Metapod responded to its trainer by launching itself at the centre Beedrill and pushed it into Pidgeotto's Gust attack, which swept up the Poison Bee Pokemon. Metapod immediately used Harden to once again raise its defence against the other two Beedrill who started to use Twineedle in a rapid fire attack.

Metapod continued to take the Twineedle onslaught but it was clear that its stamina was depleting and that it wouldn't be able to keep this up for long. The Beedrill was continually putting everything into each jab, and finally it paid dividends as Metapod screamed in pain as it was launched into a nearby tree

"No Metapod!" Ash called out helplessly as he watched the Cocoon Pokemon take the barrage of attacks.

Tears began to fall from young Yellow's eyes as she couldn't help but feel partly responsible for that poor Metapod being in its current situation.

Metapod grimaced with pain, but was definitely not about to give up just yet. After all, this was its forest! This is where Metapod was born and these people had the audacity to disrupt the peace and harmony here. Compounded on top of all of that, it had a trainer to protect! Ash had been nothing but kind and supporting to it for the entire time they had been friends so he had to defend him. All of these emotions gave Metapod the will to rise again and face the challenge before it, and with this new found determination, Metapod became enveloped in a bright light.

"No way, Metapod's evolving…" Ash said in awe.

"Cooool..." Yellow mused with her eyes still swelling with tears.

From the bright light that surrounded Metapod, a more rounded body began to take shape with two antennae and two large feet also forming. But the most obvious change were two large wings that were taking shape. The light finally dissipated to reveal a purple-bodied butterfly with two buggy, red eyes and large, patterned wings.

"Awesome!" Ash cheered with a smile from ear to ear. "You evolved into a Butterfree!" he added as he pulled out his Pokedex.

" _Butterfree: the Butterfly Pokemon, and the evolved form of Metapod. Butterfree's wings are protected by a rain-repellent dust. As a result, Butterfree can fly about even in rain."_ The Pokedex informed.

The newly evolved Butterfree stood up proudly, and took flight for the very first time. It flew over the angry horde of Beedrill and released a silvery-blue dust from its wings. As soon as each Beedrill inhaled the dust, their eyes slowly became heavier until they fell into a deep sleep.

"That was Sleep Powder," Ash inferred. "Way to go Butterfree! You were amazing out there and you really saved us!"

The Butterfly Pokemon was over the moon to hear this praise coming from Ash and expressed this by happily flying from side to side.

"You guys were awesome too!" Ash commended both Pikachu and Pidgeotto.

Both the Mouse Pokemon and the Bird Pokemon collapsed from exhaustion. Keeping those Beedrill at bay was a lot more difficult than they originally anticipated.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Yellow cried out gratefully as she rushed up to Ash. "You saved me and all the Pokemon! I'm sorry I got in the way but usually I can handle these sorts of situations." she continued, still teary-eyed. "My name's Yellow by the way."

"No worries. My name's Ash," Ash replied. "What did you mean when you said that you could normally handle these situations?"

"Oh, I have the powers of the Viridian Forest, which means that I can read the minds of Pokemon." she explained succinctly. "I can also heal Pokemon."

"Really?! That's so cool!" Ash gushed over Yellow's abilities. "That explains why you weren't able to do anything to the Beedrill. You see, Team Rocket were using some crazy mind control thing on them." he explained.

"Those guys are the worst!" Yellow blurted angrily.

"Yeah I know. I was actually trying to take down the guys responsible so I could free all the Bug Pokemon they caught." Ash agreed.

"So they were catching Bug Pokemon," she confirmed. "Well if you are going to battle Team Rocket, I'll heal your Pokemon for you."

"That would be awesome thanks Yellow." Ash accepted gratefully as he mentally prepared himself for the battle ahead.

* * *

Meanwhile, the front yard of Samurai's humble home was the stage for a fierce double battle that was taking place. This was a battle between Misty and Samurai and Team Rocket's Cassidy and Butch and whilst both sides have taken serious damage, neither side was giving an inch to their opponents.

"Pinsir has taken a lot of damage. I'm not sure how much more he can take." Samurai mused.

"Dammit, these twerps are tougher than they look!" Cassidy grunted in annoyance.

"We can't afford to lose this or else Anthony will have our heads." Butch added.

"Pinsir, charge at Marowak with a Vicegrip!" Samurai called out.

"Jump and dodge it Marowak!" Butch responded.

Pinsir charged at the Bone Keeper Pokemon with its pincers spread wide but ran underneath it.

"Now hit it with Bone Club!" Butch ordered, taking advantage of the opening.

The airborne Marowak raised its club and struck the Stag Beetle Pokemon directly on the top of the head. Pinsir's eyes whited out as it collapsed to the ground unconscious and unable to battle.

"One down, one to go." Butch remarked triumphantly.

"This isn't good. Pinsir, return." Samurai called

Samurai pulled out Pinsir's Pokeball to return it but the red beam was blocked by a Raticate.

"Nuh uh, you knew the repercussions of this battle. If you lose, we get your Pokemon." Cassidy said smugly as her Raticate stood guard in front of the unconscious Pinsir.

"Damn you!" Samurai called out helplessly. He had no more Pokemon and could only help but watch as his Pokemon was left on the battlefield with no way to defend itself.

"Hey! That's no fair! You still haven't won yet! Horsea use Bubblebeam on that Raticate!" Misty ordered angrily. She couldn't believe the nerve of these guys. They had no right to steal other peoples Pokemon and she would defend the helpless to her last breath if need be.

Horsea responded to her trainer and launched an array of bubbles at the Mouse Pokemon.

"Dodge with Quick Attack!" Cassidy responded.

"Use Smokescreen to dodge then finish it off with a full powered Water Gun!" the red-head countered.

Raticate zipped around the flying bubbles and made a bee-line straight for Horsea. The blue seahorse then expelled a thick black smoke directly from its mouth making it easy to evade the Mouse Pokemon's attack. Raticate's movement left a clear trail in the smoke allowing Horsea to know exactly where its opponent was and propelled a powerful water jet at it. Upon contact, Raticate was driven across the ground and the force of the Water Gun and pushed along the turf made it stay down in an unconscious heap on the floor.

"Damn you twerp! Brad, finish her off!" Cassidy grunted in frustration.

"The name's Butch but I'll do so gladly." the green-haired man responded. "Bonemerang Marowak!"

The Bone Keeper Pokemon threw it's bone in an arclike trajectory while Horsea was still focused on the Raticate. The Dragon Pokemon was only aware of the attack after it was already too late and was struck directly in its abdomen.

"Horsea, are you alright?" Misty asked with concern and was answered with an affirmative nod. "Alright Misty, concentrate. Samurai and his disgusting bug are counting on you." she said to pep herself up.

"Hit 'em with Bone Club while its still reeling!" Butch ordered.

"Concentrate and hit it with Water Gun!" Misty responded.

Marowak ran to the ponds edge and launched itself at Horsea with its bone at the ready. Horsea countered this by spitting out a powerful stream of water, only for Marowak to reposition its bone so the stream was split in two and harmlessly splayed around it, rendering Horsea's attack ineffective. Marowak continued to head towards the Dragon Pokemon and struck it square in the head and propelled itself into a flip to land across the other side of the pond safely.

"Let's finish this Marowak! Use Headbutt!" Butch called out.

"Compose yourself Horsea and use Twister!" countered Misty.

Once again Marowak thrust itself off the ponds edge, albeit head first this time. In response, Horsea regained its balance and concentrated itself. The Dragon Pokemon's eyes became enveloped in a purple glow and soon a twister began to form right in front of it. Marowak's eyes widened upon seeing the powerful attack form but had too much momentum to stop itself from heading straight into it and soon it was caught swirling around the dragon-type attack.

"What?!" Butch grunted thinking that he had this already wrapped up.

"Now this battle is over," declared Misty. "Bubblebeam!"

The twister subsided and Marowak was in free-fall as Horsea fired a powerful stream of bubbles directly at the Bone Keeper Pokemon who screamed in pain upon being hit by the super-effective attack. Marowak fell to the ground creating a massive dust cloud which soon cleared to reveal an unconscious Marowak.

"No way! I can't believe we lost to a bunch of brats!" Butch grunted.

"Anthony's gonna kill us..." Cassidy whimpered in fear.

"We did it! You were awesome Horsea!" Misty praised.

"Horsea!" the Dragon Pokemon nodded happily with exhaustion.

"You deserve a nice long rest." Misty added as she recalled Horsea back into its Pokeball.

"Y-you... have my... sin-sincerest gratitude… young maiden" stuttered Samurai between snivelling. The young boy's face was scrunched up trying to hold back tears as he keeled over on all fours over his wounded Pinsir.

"Samurai..." the red-head trailed off.

"My good friend, how… how could you ever forgive me? I watched on helplessly as you were nearly taken in front of my very own eyes. I'M SORRY!" Samurai cried out as his tears dripped down his face and onto Pinsir.

The Stag Beetle weakly raised his left arm up, and placed it onto its trainer's shoulder in a sign of forgiveness causing Samurai to cry even louder and embrace Pinsir tightly.

"Butch, we have to scram before those two twerps catch on." Cassidy whispered to the green-haired man.

"The name's Butch for crying out loud!" he shouted in frustration catching the attention of Misty.

"That's what I said you moron!" the blonde girl gritted angrily realising that Misty had caught on to them.

"Oh… right." Butch mumbled upon realising what he had done.

"And what exactly do you two plan on doing?" Misty interrogated.

"Let's make a run for it!" Cassidy commanded Butch as they both started running through the forest.

"Hey! Wait Up!" Misty called out.

Samurai followed suit after composing himself and recalling Pinsir, and soon they were both in pursuit of the Team Rocket agents.

* * *

 _XXXXX_

" _How are you feeling Pikachu?" Ash asked._

" _Pika pika!" Pikachu perked up._

" _Wow! That is so cool!" Ash gushed as his eyes sparkled in admiration._

" _Uhh… thanks." Yellow shied away, clearly not comfortable with the attention._

" _Anyway, I'm going to take down that Team Rocket jerk for you and all of the Pokemon in the forest. Besides, Pidgeotto and Butterfree are itching to get at him." Ash informed with a look of pure determination sprawled across his face._

" _Thanks Ash." Yellow thanked as tears began to swell in her eyes._

 _Ash stood up and pushed Yellow's straw hat over her eyes. "Don't you worry. I'll save your home. All I need you to do is heal my Pokemon up afterwards. Okay?"_

" _Okay!" the young girl answered._

 _XXXXX_

"That Ash is a really great guy don't cha think Chuchu?" Yellow asked rhetorically as she and Chuchu sat on a log far away from where Ash was set to battle Anthony.

"Pikachu chu!" Chuchu affirmed.

"You know, he really reminds me of Red." Yellow mused as she drifted into her own thoughts.

* * *

"Hey Ant Tree!" Ash called out upon reaching the hideout of Team Rocket's dealings in the Viridian Forest.

"Hmm?" grunted the Elite Officer. "It's Anthony, and how on Earth are you still alive? What have you done to my test subjects?" he asked, clearly irritated.

"They're just taking a nap." Ash smirked. "Anyway are we gonna do this or what? I'm ready to beat you whenever you're ready!"

"Fine, let us do battle. If I release the Bug Pokemon upon defeat, you must be willing to gamble something of equivalent value to me if you happen to lose." Anthony declared. "Your Pokemon for example."

"Huh, no way I'd let you take my Pokemon!" Ash retorted.

"Heh, I thought so. Explain it to me then, why should I battle you?" Anthony asked.

Ash mulled over this thought for a while and seemed to be having some difficulties coming up with an answer. Intelligence and cunning never quite was his speciality, however he did have amazing protective instincts. "Pidgeotto, I choose you!" Ash exclaimed as he brought forth the Bird Pokemon from its Pokeball. "You want to know why you should battle me?" Ash asked.

"I do! Tell me what is it you'll be putting on the table! Hahahaha!" Anthony laughed maniacally.

"You shouldn't be laughing Ant Tree because you won't like the answer." Ash calmly threatened.

"Is that so?" Anthony inquired.

"Pidgeotto, Quick Attack!" Ash ordered.

"Now I see. Parasect, intercept with Cross Poison!" Anthony commanded as he released an orange insectoid Pokemon from its Pokeball.

Pidgeotto flew at Anthony with immense speed but was intercepted by the claws of Parasect which were glowing purple and in an 'X' position.

"Grr… you brat! I didn't think you'd have something like that in you." Anthony grumbled. "No matter, I'll take your Pokemon by force after I've defeated you!"

"I guess I didn't think of that… Oh well I'm gonna win anyway so it doesn't really matter too much." Ash stated confidently.

"You're a cocky brat, but you know I kind of like your attitude. We could use men like you in Team Rocket." Anthony smirked.

"I'd never join you!" Ash retorted.

"You will once you lose this battle. I'm going to take you back to HQ and reform you into a Rocket soldier! Hahahaha!" Anthony laughed. "That way you can still keep your little Pokemon friends."

"Not gonna happen! I'm winning this fight!" Ash yelled.

"We'll see. Parasect, use Spore!" Anthony commanded.

"Blow it away with Gust!" Ash countered.

Parasect released a light green powder from it's mushroom that was easily blown away by Pidgeotto's gust. The strong winds also seemed to slightly knock the Mushroom Pokemon slightly off balance which didn't go unnoticed by Ash.

"Quick Attack Pidgeotto!" Ash called out.

Pidgeotto zipped towards Parasect and hit it directly causing the Mushroom Pokemon to fly into the air with a back-flip.

"Quickly use Leech Life Parasect!" Anthony commanded.

Whilst upside-down, the Mushroom Pokemon spat out a small seed which dug into Pidgeotto's chest before sprouting vines all around the rest of the Bird Pokemon's body. These vines then sapped the energy from Pidgeotto and returned that energy back to Parasect, partially replenishing its health.

"Damn, I'm gonna have to wrap this thing up quickly." Ash said slightly panicked.

Pidgeotto began to descend to the ground after having its energy sapped.

"X-Scissor now Parasect!" Anthony ordered.

The Mushroom Pokemon scuttled quickly to where Pidgeotto was set to land with its pincers glowing light green. When Pidgeotto was in range, Parasect slashed the Bird Pokemon in an 'X' pattern. Pidgeotto was sent tumbling along the ground and once again had its energy sapped.

"Finish it with Cross Poison!" commanded the spectacled man.

Parasect unleashed a poisonous cross from its claws and had it aimed straight at the tumbling Pidgeotto.

"Pidgeotto, catch yourself and use Gust!" Ash yelled out to his Pokemon who was still out of control.

The Bird Pokemon outstretched its wings and regained control of its body and pulled up to avoid the Cross Poison before unleashing a forceful Gust which came from under the Mushroom Pokemon, picking it up and propelling it into the air as well as doing super effective damage.

"How is this possible?!" grunted Anthony in frustration.

"Now send it back to earth with a Wing Attack!" Ash ordered.

Pidgeotto quickly flew up and over the airborne Parasect with glowing wings, and smacked it back onto the ground with ferocity. The crash landing formed a huge dust cloud which momentarily concealed the unconscious Parasect.

"It seems you can walk the walk. I've underestimated you, Ash Ketchum." Anthony admitted whilst recalling Parasect. "I will not make that same mistake twice. Venomoth, go!" he called out as he released a large purple moth with large scaly wings.

"How are you going Pidgeotto?" Ash asked.

Pidgeotto gave an affirmative nod but it was clear that it was struggling thanks to the Leech Life but its pride would not allow it it to back out of the fight now that its home and its trainer was on the line.

"Alright then, keep going Pidgeotto." Ash tentatively agreed knowing that the Bird Pokemon was taking a real battering. "Start things off with a Quick Attack!"

"Dodge it!" Anthony countered.

Pidgeotto sped towards Venomoth who easily manoeuvred out of the way of the attack and just watched it fly past. Pidgeotto then cried in pain as it took more damage from Leech Life.

"Psybeam it now Venomoth!" Anthony commanded, sensing an opportunity to take down Ash's Bird Pokemon.

Venomoth released a multi-coloured beam from its three pointed horn, and hit the Bird Pokemon directly in the back. The damage was too much for Pidgeotto who began a free-fall descent straight towards the ground.

"Nooo Pidgeotto!" Ash called out.

But it was too late. Pidgeotto crashed into the ground and didn't get back up. Instead, it laid there on the ground unconscious and unable to battle.

"Return Pidgeotto. You rest now, you fought bravely. Don't you worry, I'll still win this." Ash reassured as he recalled his fallen Pidgeotto.

"Still think you can win?" asked Anthony smugly.

Ash took a deep breath before he replied. "Yep! Butterfree, I choose you!" he called before releasing the Butterfly Pokemon from its Pokeball.

Butterfree was also dead set on stopping the poaching of Viridian Forest having been born and raised here. It was also quite aware that it was quite a strong little Caterpie and if it weren't for Ash, it might have fallen victim to Team Rocket's bug catching.

"I'll tell you right now that this is my final Pokemon Ash." Anthony informed. "In fact in many ways you are quite lucky. I had a Beedrill lead that swarm that you miraculously took out and my other Pokemon are currently being healed after 'recruiting' some powerful Bug type Pokemon to Team Rocket. But you are quite unlucky in the fact that this is my strongest Pokemon Ash. Can you take it out?"

"This Butterfree of mine is pretty strong too Ant Tree. In fact it was this very Butterfree who happened to take down your prized swarm of Beedrill." Ash informed.

"I see." Anthony acknowledged. "Then let us do battle!"

"Tackle!" both trainers called out simultaneously.

Butterfree and Venomoth charged at each out at full steam and collided powerfully in the centre of the field. At first it seemed that neither Pokemon had the edge until finally Venomoth started overpowering the Butterfly Pokemon and managed to push it back several meters.

"You see now?" Anthony asked. "My Venomoth has already demonstrated that it's stronger than your Butterfree. You would be wise to give up and run away while you still have Pokemon to defend yourself with."

"This battle has only just begun so I ain't running." Ash replied.

"Hmph, suit yourself. Venomoth, use Silver Wind!" Anthony ordered.

The Poison Moth Pokemon flapped its wings to produce a silvery powder that was directed at Butterfree, and it was coming at speed leaving Butterfree unable to assess a way to dodge the attack. The Butterfly Pokemon grunted slightly as it was blown away and off balance by the bug type attack.

"Now follow up with Psybeam!" Anthony called out.

Venomoth fired a multi-coloured beam of light at a panicking Butterfree who was still off balance and was essentially a sitting duck.

"Don't panic Butterfree!" Ash called out. "Spread your wings and dodge!"

Butterfree took in a deep breath to calm down and swiftly and confidently spread its wings, catching the air current and narrowly floated above the incoming psychic attack.

"Way to go! Now hit 'em with Confusion!" Ash followed up.

Butterfree's antennae began to glow blue before releasing a beam of blue, psychic energy at the Poison Moth Pokemon who shrieked in pain upon contact.

"Let's keep this role going Butterfree! Use String Shot, followed by Bug Bite!" Ash yelled.

Butterfree shot a thread of a sticky, silk-like string targeted for the centre of a fumbling Venomoth's chest. Once the thread made contact, Butterfree reeled in its catch who could only watch as it was heading straight into the light green glowing fangs of Butterfree. The Butterfly Pokemon dug its fangs into the neck of the Poison Moth Pokemon who once again shrieked in pain.

"Awesome stuff Butterfree!" Ash praised.

"Get it together Venomoth!" screamed Anthony who was now furious. "Close range Psybeam!"

"Oh no! I left Butterfree in a vulnerable position." Ash admitted as he felt his heart drop.

Venomoth freed itself from Butterfree's grip and unleashed a powerful Psybeam from no more than 30cm away causing massive damage on the Butterfly Pokemon who yelled in agony.

"No! Butterfree!" Ash called out to Butterfree who crashed into a nearby tree. "Can you still battle?"

Butterfree flew out of the tree confidently and cooed affirmatively to let everyone know that it was still in the fight.

"Way to go Butterfree! Let's win this thing and save your friends." Ash affirmed.

"That is a strong Butterfree you have there. It would make a fine addition to Team Rocket." Anthony taunted. "Now, Supersonic Venomoth!"

Venomoth's antenna began to vibrate quickly as it emitted blue sound waves at Butterfree. Although seemingly, not a lot happened.

"Use Tackle Butterfree!" Ash called out.

Butterfree charged at full speed at its target and connected forcefully. However, something was telling the Butterfly Pokemon that it took more damage than it's opponent.

"Huh?!" Ash grunted, in an utter state of confusion as he watched his Pokemon perform the perfect Tackle… into a tree.

"It seems you are unaware of what Supersonic does. Supersonic is a move that confuses your opponent's Pokemon." Anthony informed.

"Well that sucks. What do I do now?" Ash asked himself.

"You lose! Finish this with a barrage of Tackles!" Anthony commanded.

Venomoth then charged with Tackle after Tackle while Butterfree was unable to even comprehend what was happening.

"Come on Butterfree! Use String Shot, Sleep Powder, Confusion, anything!" Ash pleaded helplessly. He couldn't think of a way out of this situation. Was this the end of the line for Butterfree?

Butterfree, who was still confused, had its fangs bared and glowing green. Butterfree then managed to evade the Tackle and used Bug Bite on a target that was already ten meters away, but the momentum made Butterfree digs its fangs into its own right foot.

"Really Butterfree?!" Ash questioned as he buried his head into his hands in despair. He then soon lifted his head upon hearing an apologetic coo from Butterfree. "You're not confused anymore!" Ash exclaimed.

Butterfree was about to confirm Ash's assumption but was interrupted by a powerful Tackle instead.

"Dammit! I should have been paying attention." Ash scolded himself.

"So the damn butterfly is no longer confused. No matter. One last Psybeam should be the end of it." Anthony mused.

"Butterfree has taken a lot of damage and won't be able to take much more. But Venomoth is in the same boat and will probably go down in one hit too." Ash assessed.

"Do it Venomoth! Use Psybeam" Anthony screamed.

"Use String Shot to dodge!" Ash countered.

Venomoth fired off a Psybeam at Butterfree who had launched a String Shot to a branch above it to pull itself harmlessly over the psychic attack.

"Now Confusion!" Ash yelled, sensing victory.

Butterfree directed a blue beam of psychic energy from its antennae to Venomoth who was still off balance from firing off a Psybeam. The Poison Moth Pokemon took the full brunt of Butterfree's Confusion and roared in pain before it fell to the ground with its eyes whited out, and unconscious.

"Alright! We did it Butterfree! You were so awesome!" Ash praised excitedly as he ran over and embraced Butterfree.

"What?! How is this possible?" Anthony muttered in disbelief.

"Aaannnttthhhooonnnyyyy!" two voices called out through the forestation. These voices were eventually identified as Cassidy and Butch as they emerged from the shrubs.

"What do you two idiots want?" Anthony snarled.

"We're sorry sir." Cassidy apologised.

"We failed our mission sir." Butch added.

Misty and Samurai then arrived soon after, evidently in hot pursuit of the two Top Agents

"Ah Ash! How did everything go?" Misty queried.

"Oh, hey guys. I beat this guy so all that's left is to free the Pokemon." Ash explained.

"Nice!" Misty commended.

"Indeed, a job well done Ash!" Samurai added.

"What? Is it true Anthony? Did you really get beaten by that twerp?" Cassidy asked desperately.

"He speaks the truth. It is our complete and utter defeat."' Anthony confirmed as he dropped his head in shame.

"Alright Pikachu, fry the electrics on that cage with a Thunderbolt!" Ash called out.

With a quick nod, Pikachu unleashed a Thunderbolt at the electronic remote which short-circuited the electrics of the cage, opening the door allowing the captured Bug Pokemon to scamper free.

"We saved Viridian Forest!" Misty exclaimed. "Wait, did we just let 100 bugs loose again?"

"Haha don't worry Misty, they won't hurt you." Ash assured.

Ash's words didn't end becoming 100% true as dozens of Caterpie and Weedle rushed up to cuddle Ash, Misty and Samurai in gratitude to them.

"AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH! Get these things off of me!" Misty shrieked as she was swarmed by the many grateful Bug Pokemon.

"Hahahahahahahaha! How can you not think these little guys are cute?" Ash asked sarcastically, still finding humour in Misty's fear of bugs.

"Ash, Misty. We cannot be too caught up in celebrations just yet. We must deal with these three crooks first." Samurai informed.

"Oh yeah! What should we do with you-" Ash started to say before he looked up to see that the three members of Team Rocket have disappeared. "Where did those thiefs go?"

"We let them get away…" Misty sighed.

"Heeeyyyy Aaassshhhhh!" called out the voice of a young girl running up to the group of three. "You won didn't you?'"

"Yeah I did. How did you know?" Ash asked.

"Because I saw Team Rocket running away with their tails between their legs saying that they need to report back to HQ." Yellow cheerily explained.

"Well that works…" Ash shrugged..

"Hey Ash, who is this girl?" Misty asked.

"Oh that's Yellow. She has these crazy cool powers and can read the minds of Pokemon, and even heal them as well!" Ash explained, causing Yellow to blush. "Yellow, that's Misty and that's Samurai and they helped defend Viridian Forest as well."

"Thank you, I am extremely grateful to all of you for saving my home." Yellow thanked.

"I too am indebted to the both of you for saving my Pinsir and the other Bug Pokemon living here." Samurai added.

"Heh, no big deal." Ash responded, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah, it was up to us as Pokemon trainers to help Pokemon in need." Misty added. "Even though they were disgusting bugs."

"Well to express my gratitude, I shall host a banquet for all of us." Samurai offered. "And of course you are welcome to stay at my cabin to rest up before you head to your next destination."

"Thanks but I really want to get out of this bug infested-" Misty began to say.

"Banquet?" Ash drooled, interrupting Misty.

"Sounds good to me! And I can heal up all of you tired Pokemon!" Yellow added.

"Well then, let's head back to my cabin then." Samurai said leading the way.

"Oh great..." Misty muttered sarcastically, not particularly thrilled to be staying in the forest for another night.

"Let's go!" Ash exclaimed.

* * *

All in all there were exactly 137 Bug Pokemon that were released at that moment, and only Pikachu knew what they were saved from. These Pokemon were all spared from a fate worse than death. They would have been put under rigorous testing and training in order to increase their strength. They would have been tortured and abused around the clock. But potentially worst of all, they would have been forced to fight against their core beliefs and morals. These are the kind of people that make up Team Rocket.

* * *

 **So? How was it? This is by far the longest chapter I've written. It's 3000 words longer than anything else I've written. I'm not entirely sure if that's going to be the norm from now on. I don't think so but we'll see. This chapter also contained the first real fights I've written so please let me know how those turned out and where I can improve. I'll try to stick to a weekly/bi-weekly release schedule depending on how busy my life gets (Translation: how much Pokemon Go I play).**

 **But until next time, see ya!**


	6. Brock the Rock

**A/N**

 **Hey everyone, how's life? I actually got a better response from my comeback last week than I had originally anticipated which is pretty awesome, to say the least. So thanks to all that read it! Anyway, this chapter marks the first of the Pewter City Arc, and I have to say, that I'm pretty proud of how it's turning out so far. But without further ado, enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 6: Brock the Rock

The clock had struck 12 and Ash and Misty were saying their final goodbyes to Yellow and Samurai as they prepared to face their next adventure. The previous night was composed of a lengthy celebration between the four where many laughs were had by a campfire set up by the extremely resourceful Samurai. Yellow had taken a particular liking to Ash and was dragged into many of his silly antics, much to the dismay of Misty, whereas Samurai was a lot more mature and found pleasure telling tales of times gone by under the stars. But that had all transpired and it was now time for them to part.

"Ash, Misty, I am most grateful to the both of you for protecting my Pinsir. I am not sure I will ever be able to repay the insurmountable debt that I owe the two of you." Samurai bowed to express his gratitude.

"Heh, don't mention it. You gave me food and a place to stay for two nights. As far as I'm concerned, we're even." Ash replied.

"Exactly! We both saw you fighting to protect Ash's Butterfree and all the other Pokemon in the forest too." Misty added to alleviate some of Samurai's stress.

"I appreciate it. If you ever return to Viridian Forest, let me know and I will throw another banquet to celebrate your return." Samurai offered.

"Will do." Ash and Misty accepted.

"Ash, thanks for beating that Team Rocket guy and saving the forest." Yellow thanked.

"No worries Yellow, thanks for healing our Pokemon up!" Ash responded.

"Heh, your welcome Ash." Yellow chuckled. "Thanks to you too Misty, all the forest Pokemon are also really grateful to you too."

"Well that's great and all but I'd rather they don't ever show their gratitude ever again..." Misty shuddered, thinking back to the awful group bug hug she endured the previous day.

"Haha, well anyway guys, we'd better be off so you guys take care of yourselves." Ash waved as he started to walk off.

"See ya later!" Misty added.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu said as it shook Chuchu's paw. The two Mouse Pokemon became really good friends at the previous night's banquet and were also quite sad to part.

"Pikachu pi!" Chuchu replied.

"Farewell my friends. I wish you all luck in your future endeavours." Samurai said.

"Byyeeee! Come back soon!" Yellow called out, waving both her arms frantically.

"Will do! Catch ya later!" Ash called back as he walked along the path to Pewter City.

* * *

Ash and Misty continued to walk down the dirt road before Misty had a burning question that was eating away at the back of her mind.

"Hey Ash, how much battling experience did you have before yesterday?" she asked curiously.

"Hmm, well none I guess. That was my first real battle." Ash answered nonchalantly.

"Really? Then how were you able to defeat one of Team Rocket's Elite Officers?" Misty followed up. "They're Team Rocket's third highest ranking officials below only the Executives and the boss."

"Oh really? I dunno, Ant Tree said that I was pretty lucky that most of his Pokemon were already taken out before I battled him though." Ash replied without thinking too much.

"Even if that is the case, you both only used two Pokemon if what you said was correct meaning that if you were to both have six Pokemon, you would have still won." Misty said, mulling things over. "Where did you learn to battle?"

"Well… my old man used to teach me a few things before he died three years ago." Ash answered.

"Oh! Sorry to hear." Misty apologised for unknowingly bringing up bad memories.

"It's alright, I don't mind talking about." Ash replied.

"Well anyway, it seems like you were taught well because you're extremely talented." Misty complimented.

"Wow, I never thought I'd hear those words from someone who accused me of Pokemon abuse three days ago!" Ash mocked.

"Hey! You looked awfully suspicious back then!" Misty yelled back flustered. "Plus you stole my bike, and then fried it!"

"Oh right, I completely forgot about that. Hey Pikachu!" Ash called out to his partner."

"Pika…!" the Mouse Pokemon perked up.

"Since you destroyed her bike, it's only fair that you get her a new one." Ash told his partner.

"Pika pika Pikachu, pika pi!" Pikachu waved around frantically, refusing to take any blame.

"Not Pikachu! You Ash!" Misty added firmly.

"Haha relax guys, I was only joking." Ash laughed.

* * *

"Don't you think Chuchu?" Yellow asked. "Ash really reminds me of Red."

"Chuuu..." Chuchu trailed off into thought.

"I wonder how Red's going at the moment. He hasn't come to visit me in… I think it's three months now. I hope he's doing well." Yellow mused to herself.

* * *

It had been several days since Ash and Misty had left the Viridian Forest but after all that walking, it seems that they have finally arrived at their destination.

"Hey look at that Pikachu! It's Pewter City!" Ash pointed out enthusiastically as he jumped on top of a large rock to get a better view. "This is where we win our first badge and take one step closer to becoming the Pokemon Master!"

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed with the same determination of its trainer. The more Ash talked about becoming the Pokemon Master, the more pumped Pikachu got. Despite only being together for a short amount of time, Ash and Pikachu have already got their sights set on the same goal.

"Don't get too over-confident Ash." Misty warned. "Gym Leaders are no pushovers."

"Pikachu and I are fired up Misty! There is nothing that can stand in our way!" Ash boldly declared.

"You should listen to your friend young man." a deep, gruff voice advised.

"Huh? Who are you?" Ash asked the unfamiliar man.

"My name is Flint and you are standing on some of my merchandise." the owner of the voice revealed himself. Flint was a tanned and muscular man who must've been in his 40s at least. He had black, spiky hair covered by a red beanie and a thick, black beard concealing his facial features.

"What? This rock?" Ash asked, perplexed.

"Yeah, it's a Pewter City souvenir. Pewter City is known for selling the highest quality rocks in all of Kanto." Flint explained.

"Really… rocks?" Misty uttered unimpressed.

Ash jumped off the rock and immediately noticed a price tag for the rock he was standing on. "$500 for a rock?! You're kidding!" Ash exclaimed in sheer disbelief. "No one actually pays for this do they?"

"Ha, I make an absolute fortune from clueless tourists." Flint laughed, reflecting on the gullibility of some of his customers.

"So you're a con artist..." Misty muttered.

"Anyway, you plan on taking on Brock?" Flint asked Ash, ignoring Misty's accusations.

"If Brock's the Gym Leader of Pewter City, then he's the guy I have to beat." Ash answered.

"I'll give you the hot tip. You can't beat Brock." Flint said bluntly.

"Hey! I can beat Brock! Who are you to say that I can't?" Ash responded, clearly offended at Flint's comments.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu piped up alongside Ash.

"Is that your Pikachu?" Flint inquired.

"Yeah, what of it?" Ash replied, still irritated.

"Well your Pikachu here has no chance against Brock's Rock-type Pokemon." Flint answered.

"Hate to say it Ash, but he's right. Butterfree and Pidgeotto are also weak to Rock Pokemon so you're already at a huge disadvantage when it comes to typing." Misty added.

"Typing isn't everything!" Ash retorted.

"Well if you ask very nicely, I could lend you my Water Pokemon to help you out." Misty offered.

"Thanks, but no thanks." Ash declined immediately. "If I don't win with my own Pokemon, there's no point of winning at all."

"Sheesh! You're so stubborn! But I guess you do have a point." Misty eventually admitted.

"Anyway let's go Pikachu. We'll prove those guys wrong. I can beat that guy." Ash kept on telling himself as he stormed off.

"Pika Pikachu!" Pikachu muttered, following in Ash's footsteps.

"I'll be watching." Flint called out. "Stubborn brat!"

"Sorry about him. He has a very one-track mind." Misty quickly apologised on Ash's behalf before running off after him. "Hey, wait up!"

* * *

Ash, Pikachu and Misty had finally trudged through the doors of he Pewter City Pokemon Centre, and their timing could not have been any better. The sun was due to set at any moment and Ash had realised that his gym match would have to wait for the following day. Pikachu was also exhausted despite spending most of its time on Ash's shoulder and could not wait to be rejuvenated at the Pokemon Centre. Ash was also quite excited by seeing what he thought was a familiar face.

"Hey Nurse Joy! I didn't expect to see you here!" Ash happily greeted. "Come to think about it, how did you get here before us?"

"Huh…?" Nurse Joy blinked cluelessly.

"Ash, it's not the same Joy from Viridian City." Misty informed.

"Oh you must have met the Joy from Viridian City. You see all Pokemon Centres have someone from the Joy family taking care of them." she explained recognising the common misunderstanding.

"So you're all twins?" Ash inquired.

"Not necessarily." Joy responded as she pulled out a dusty photo album and flicked the page to a photo showing around 20 Joys lined up for formal photograph.

"Wow, there sure are a lot of you. How come you all look the same?" Ash asked. "I don't think I've ever heard of twenty sisters all looking the same."

"Oh, we're not all sisters. You see this one here is my cousin. And she's by second cousin. And although she looks young, she's actually my aunt!" Joy explained as she pointed to random other Joys.

"You see Ash! Now can we heal our Pokemon yet?" Misty pleaded, getting tired of Ash's curiosity.

"Not yet Misty! Seriously, why is it that you're all identical? Oh, and how are you related to he Viridian City Joy?" Ash questioned.

"I dunno… strong genes I guess." Joy answered unsatisfactorily. "And the Nurse Joy from Viridian is my sister-in-law!"

"You see! Now could you please take my Pokemon Nurse Joy?" Misty butted in, seemingly desensitised to the many Joys going around.

"I'd be happy to Misty!" Joy smiled as she accepted Misty's Pokeballs.

"But sisters-in-law aren't even related..." Ash muttered under his breath, visibly confused by the Joy conundrum.

"Seriously Ash, they all look the same, because they're from the same family. What part of that don't you understand?" Misty asked.

"Well clearly the core concept Misty!" Ash retorted.

"Do you want me to look after your Pokemon as well Ash?" Nurse Joy offered, breaking up the arguement.

"Err… yes please." Ash eventually replied, clearly not functioning well with his brain fried.

Pikachu jumped onto the counter and Joy took Ash's other Pokemon as well before asking. "I assume you two will be staying here tonight so shall I set you both up with rooms?"

"That'd be great thanks Nurse Joy." Misty accepted on behalf of the two of them.

"Well here you go!" Joy said as she handed Misty both room keys.

Misty was about to walk off to her room before she noticed that Ash was still staring intently at Nurse Joy, making her slightly uncomfortable. "Oh come on Ash!" she groaned before grabbing his shirt and dragging him off.

* * *

The sun had risen on a new day and Ash and Pikachu were rested and rearing to go as they stood out front of the Pewter City Gym. The gym was essentially a giant rock with a door on it so Misty suspected that it must've been hollowed out on the inside to have the room for a battlefield.

"Hmm, I wonder if Brock bought this rock from Flint. If he did, it must've cost him a fortune." Misty thought out loud.

"You ready Pikachu?" Ash asked his partner.

"Pika!" the Mouse Pokemon nodded. Truth be told, Pikachu was pumped to finally participate in a gym battle.

"Alright! Let's do this!" Ash exclaimed as he opened the door to the Pewter City Gym.

The door opened to reveal a dimly lit room with the space evidently carved out from the rock. There was one light on which illuminated a young tanned boy, probably five years older than Ash, sitting with his legs crossed on a rock on the other side of the gym. The boy had black spiky hair and very distinguishable squinty eyes and he sported an orange vest over his green tee and long brown pants.

"Welcome to the Pewter City Gym!" the boy announced. "My name is Brock. I suppose you are here to challenge me."

"Yeah that's right! I'm Ash and I challenge you to a Gym Battle!" Ash declared confidently.

"From the state of your shoes, you can't have been travelling for more than 2 weeks. Am I wrong?" Brock inquired.

"Wow, he's really observant." Misty whispered in amazement.

"Well yeah, I've been a Pokemon trainer for about a week. Give or take." Ash replied honestly.

"Well there's your problem. You can't beat me with that kind of experience. You should go out and train so that you can have a chance." Brock informed bluntly.

"Grr… I can beat you! Come on, let's battle!" Ash grunted, irritated that his ability was constantly being undermined.

"Well League rules state that I must accept all challengers." Brock informed as he stood up and flicked a switch, turning on the main lights of the Gym and revealing the battlefield which had many large rocks scattered around it. "At least try to entertain me!" he added arrogantly.

"Good luck Ash." Misty muttered sarcastically as she walked to a viewing dock. Misty had already pencilled in a defeat for Ash. Not for a lack of ability, but for being too stubborn to recognise his inexperience and the overwhelming type disadvantage that would be an incredible obstacle for Ash to overcome.

"The rules are simple Ash, it will be a 2vs2 battle where I, as the Gym Leader, will not be permitted any substitutions." Brock informed.

"Got it!" Ash acknowledged.

"Well then, go Onix!" Brock called out as he released the Rock Snake Pokemon which resembled a long chain of rocks.

"Jeez! That thing is massive!" Ash gritted in intimidation as he pulled out his Pokedex.

" _Onix, the Rock Snake Pokemon:_ _Onix has a magnet in its brain. It acts as a compass so that this Pokemon does not lose direction while it is tunnelling. As it grows older, its body becomes_ _increasingly_ _rounder and smoother."_ the Pokedex informed.

"Yep, he's screwed." Misty muttered.

"Do you see the difference between us now?" Brock asked.

"Just because your Pokemon is big, doesn't mean it's stronger than mine." Ash replied. "Pikachu, you're up!" Ash called out as Pikachu nervously ran onto the battlefield.

"You do realise that your Electric type Pikachu is weak against my Rock and Ground type Onix, right?" Brock asked flatly.

"Yeah but type advantages aren't everything." Ash answered, not willing to admit that he didn't have anything strong against Rock types like Onix.

"Start things off with a Quick Attack Pikachu!" Ash called out.

Pikachu sped towards Onix and hit it directly in the chest with a Quick Attack. However, Onix did not budge a single inch.

"That… didn't do a thing." Ash muttered, clearly put off by the Rock Snake Pokemon's defence.

"Onix, hit that rodent with Slam!" Brock ordered.

"I'm not gonna give up though! Pikachu, dodge and use Quick Attack!" Ash yelled. "If we hit him as many times as we can, as quickly as possibly, it will eventually fall."

Onix repositioned itself so that it could bring down its tail to slam down Pikachu, but the Mouse Pokemon was too quick for it, and dodged before it struck the Rock Snake Pokemon with incredible speed. But Onix still stood unfazed.

"Onix, wrap it up with Bind!" Brock ordered.

"Keep dodging and using Quick Attack Pikachu!" Ash called out.

Onix and Pikachu seemed to be playing a game of cat and mouse with Pikachu performing small hit and run tactics to gradually whittle its opponent down, while Onix was just trying to get that one big shot in with the knowledge that it would most likely spell the end for this battle. Pikachu was getting in hit after hit, but despite this, Onix would not budge. Until finally, Pikachu got a direct hit into Onix's chest and caused the Rock Snake Pokemon to recoil slightly and grunt in pain.

"I have to admit Ash, I'm a little impressed." Brock admitted. "Not only have you refused to give up in the face of an insurmountable obstacle, but your thinking about how to get around it."

"Yeah, come to think about it, this is the first time I've seen Ash battle." Misty whispered to herself.

"You also show that you have a bit of talent. Who knows, perhaps if you weren't at such a huge disadvantage, perhaps we'd stand on equal footing." Brock mused. "But I digress, your Pikachu will wear itself out long before Onix gets knocked out."

"Grr… we'll just see about that! I have faith in Pikachu!" Ash responded.

It wasn't long before Brock was proven right though as Pikachu was finally too exhausted to avoid Onix's Bind. The Rock Snake Pokemon wrapped its tail tightly around Pikachu and tried to squeeze the fight out of it.

"Piiikkkaaa..." Pikachu grunted in pain as it tried to break free of Onix's tight clasp.

"No Pikachu!" Ash called out in worry.

"This battle is done now, use Slam Onix!" Brock ordered.

The Rock Snake Pokemon responded by forcibly slamming Pikachu onto the hard ground causing Pikachu to yell in pain.

"Now let's wrap this up with Rock Tomb!" Brock commanded.

Onix slammed its tail on the ground to force three rocks to protrude from the ground surrounding Pikachu and jam into the sides of the Mouse Pokemon. Pikachu cried out in pain and once the rocks released Pikachu, it fell to its knees weakly and finally slumped over unconscious in defeat.

"Pikachu, no!" Ash called out helplessly as he ran out onto the battlefield to pick up his unconscious partner. "Pikachu, are you okay?"

Pikachu weakly opened its eyes and muttered "Pi… ka." before it rested its eyes again.

"I'm sorry Pikachu. I failed you." Ash apologised to his partner before looking up to face Brock. "Brock, I forfeit." he declared, much to the surprise of Brock and Misty.

"Huh?" Misty gasped in confusion. She had always thought Ash was far too stubborn to ever give up like that.

"You're not gong to finish the battle Ash? What happened to all that talk about not giving up just a while ago?" Brock asked mockingly.

"I never said I was giving up. I know that I can't beat you the way I am now. The only other two Pokemon I have are both weak to Rock-type Pokemon." Ash explained. "But as I said, I'm not giving up! You will see me again once I know exactly how I'm going to beat you. It could be tomorrow, it could be next week but whenever it is I next challenge you, the result will be very different, and I will win."

"It's a wise decision Ash. I look forward to our next battle." Brock smiled. Brock did enjoy partaking in Pokemon battles and watching the next generation of elite trainers come through the ranks, but above all else, he loved watching aspiring trainers learn and grow stronger.

Ash, with Pikachu in tow, walked out of the gym in frustration that he was unable to win his first gym badge. Misty ran after him having learnt something new about him and his devotion to his Pokemon.

"Hey Ash, you made the right decision back there." Misty consoled. "I didn't know you could ever be so mature."

"Dammit! I just needed a Pokemon that was strong against Rock-types. If that Bulbasaur wasn't stolen, I would have wiped the floor with that guy!" Ash suddenly exclaimed.

"Aaaand you've ruined it." Misty muttered, shocked at how quickly Ash changed moods.

* * *

Elsewhere, Green was walking down a dirt road with her new partner Bulbasaur when suddenly she stopped.

"Bulb?" the Seed Pokemon looked up at her with inquisition.

"That was weird. I just got hit with this sudden feeling of guilt for stealing you, Bulbasaur." Green explained. "But don't worry, it's gone now so let's keep going!"

* * *

"I need to figure out a way to beat that guy." Ash thought out loud as he and Misty walked towards the Pokemon Centre. "My hit and run tactic was working alright but I just need to find away to do more damage."

"I agree. I think that would work best, unless you want to borrow my Pokemon." Misty once again offered.

"Nah, I'm good. I just don't know how I'm going to break through that defence." Ash admitted.

"I believe I can help you with that." a familiar, gruff voice called out from behind.

"Huh? Oh it's that rock salesman!" remarked Misty as she turned to see that the voice belonged to Flint.

"Oh, I bet you're here to say I told you so." Ash muttered upon seeing Flint.

"No, no, quite the opposite in fact." Flint defended himself. "You see, I saw the whole thing and I gotta say that what you did took guts. And when you battle, you have this spark of determination in your eye that not many other trainers have. You could go far kid and I want to help you."

"You really mean it?" Ash asked hopefully.

"Yep! Now I understand that you have a Pidgeotto as well as that Pikachu you're carrying, am I correct?" Flint asked.

"Yeah that's right." Ash answered.

"Well I have two TMs here that would be perfect for you to use." Flint explained as he pulled two disks out of his pocket.

"TMs? What are they?" Ash inquired.

"TMs are short for Technical Machines and can come in handy when trying to teach your Pokemon a new move." Misty explained.

"That's right and these two right here contain Iron Tail and Steel Wing." Flint informed them.

"Steel-type moves hey? That's exactly what I need to take down Brock! Thanks a bunch Flint!" he thanked as he took the TMs from him. "But why exactly are you helping me?" he asked, detecting an ulterior motive.

"Well I was telling the truth when I said you have potential, but you're correct if you think I have another motive. Follow me." Flint said as he began to walk back towards the Gym.

Ash and Misty decided to follow him to see what he had to say. Flint led them around the back of the Pewter Gym to reveal that it was actually connected to a house.

"What you see here is the house of the Harrison family." Flint explained as he gestured towards the house. Inside Brock could be seen behind the stove cooking for nine other boys and girls. "Brock is the eldest child of the Harrison family and because of this, he takes responsibility of all nine of his brothers and sisters."

"Really? What about his parents?" Misty asked in disbelief.

"His mother, Lola, was murdered at the hands of Team Rocket four years ago. She was a researcher at the Pewter City Museum, and one night they were raided by Team Rocket who stole all of the fossils held there for the purposes of building an army. During this raid, Lola was killed. His father rushed to the Museum to protect her but could only get there in time to helplessly watch on as his wife was killed in front of his very own eyes. He was driven into a deep depression and ran away, too ashamed to face his children, and left the burden of looking after them all to his eldest son." Flint explained in vivid detail.

Misty was struggling to hold back tears as she listened to the story, compounded as she watched Brock stitching buttons onto one of the younger girls' dress.

"That's… horrible." was all Ash could mutter.

"Indeed it is." Flint concurred.

"If you don't mind me asking Flint, how do you know about this?" Ash asked.

"Well… I guess you could say that I used to be quite close with the family." Flint answered cautiously.

"So then why did you tell us about this?" Ash followed up, still not understanding why he helped him.

"As I told you earlier, I see potential in you. I believe you could be the man to relieve Brock of his burden. He should go out and see the world and follow his true passions but instead he's couped up here in Pewter City like it's his own personal prison. He used to be quite a lot angrier but has since mellowed out into the man he is today, but has abandoned his dreams in the process, something no 15 year old should be forced to do. You are the man who can rekindle his dreams Ash. That I am sure of." Flint explained with a stern expression.

"So all I have to do is beat him right? I can manage that!" Ash affirmed with a smirk.

"Ha, I thought so!" Flint laughed.

Misty wiped away her tears and thought about what Flint said. It was true that Ash's determination and resolve was infectious. She had previously experienced this when they were together in the Viridian Forest. If anyone could lift Brock's burden, it was Ash. Maybe, just maybe, he could free her of her burden too.

"Thanks for the TMs Flint, but I should probably go to the Pokemon Centre to get Pikachu all healed up." Ash thanked as he nodded towards his still unconscious partner that he was carrying.

"Of course, you two take care." Flint waved as he said farewell.

"See ya later!" Misty called out as she followed Ash back towards the Pokemon Centre.

* * *

A few hours had passed since their encounter with Flint and the sun had set for the day. Ash and Misty were sitting around the main lobby area of the Pokemon Centre with Pikachu finally healed up. Ash in the meantime was staring cluelessly at the TMs with absolutely no idea how they worked. Misty could see the confusion written all over his face and decided that it was too painful to watch any longer, so she eventually offered him her assistance.

"You have no idea how to use that, do you?" Misty asked, already knowing the answer.

"It's… a disk..." Ash muttered perplexed. "How does this teach the Pokemon a new move?"

"The disk is edible Ash. They eat it and learn the move that way." Misty explained succinctly.

"How does that even work?" Ash questioned, trying to wrap his head around the TMs functionality.

"Does it really matter Ash? Ugh, so the they digest the TM and absorb its abilities via diffusion in the body. Is any of this making sense to you?" Misty tried to explain.

"No, not really." Ash replied bluntly. "So why is it a disk then?"

"Aesthetics! Seriously Ash, what part of this are you not getting?" Misty asked, starting to get irritated with Ash's ignorance of how the world works.

"Well clearly the core concept Misty!" Ash piped back. "Well anyway Pikachu, I guess you just eat this one and Pidgeotto, you eat this one." he said as he handed out Iron Tail to Pikachu and Steel Wing to Pidgeotto.

Pidgeotto started pecking away at its TM with no hesitation whilst Pikachu looked on with intrigue to ensure that it was doing it right. The Mouse Pokemon then shrugged, and began chowing down on its TM which it noticed had a distinct metallic taste.

"This is so weird… Are you sure this is how it's done Misty?" Ash asked for a final confirmation.

"Yes!" Misty yelled back.

"Alright, alright. So do you guys feel any different?" Ash asked his Pokemon after they finished devouring their TM.

Pidgeotto simply held out its right wing and showcased that it had silver glow to it signifying that it had learnt Steel Wing and likewise, Pikachu produced a similar silvery glow on its tail.

"Awesome!" Ash commended.

"You see! I told you so." Misty remarked smugly.

"Yeah, yeah. I hear you, I should listen to you more often." Ash said dismissively.

It was then that Ash and Misty were introduced by Brock sprinting into the Pokemon Centre, panting. It was obvious that he was in a rush to get there.

"Brock? What are you doing here?" Ash asked.

"Ash! There you are! I was hoping I could find you here!" Brock exclaimed with a worried expression.

"What is it?" Ash once again inquired.

"It's Team Rocket!" Brock managed to inform.

Ash and Misty could feel their hearts drop upon hearing that. They had already dealt with Team Rocket first hand, and had only just heard about their brutal ways from Flint earlier on.

"They're after fossils and they've split their forces between Mt. Moon and the Pewter City Museum." Brock explained. "You're the only strong trainer I know is in the area so I'm afraid I need to ask for your help to save some of the hostages at the Museum, whilst I deal with the crooks in Mt. Moon."

"I'm on it!" Ash affirmed.

"I'll help too!" Misty jumped in.

"Thanks guys! I owe you one! Good luck and try your best to avoid getting seen." Brock added as he started to run towards Mt. Moon.

* * *

 **How was it guys? I appreciate all types of feedback so please review it if you have anything to say. I had a lot of fun poking fun at some of the more bizarre aspects of the Pokemon universe and on the other side of the spectrum, creating a bit of a sad backstory for Brock. And before I get into anything else, kudos to those who noticed the Archer references I made!**

 **Now onto something I want to talk about. I have received a few questions about shipping and I'll put most of them to rest in one fell swoop. There will not be any real shipping until the end of the series. Now the reason for this is two-fold, 1. because I don't know how to write romance, heck, I barely even know how to write what I'm already writing. I'm still learning new things along the way. And 2. the characters are literally ten years old at the moment, so romance wouldn't be at the top of a lot of characters priority list for. I mean apart from Brock but he's 15. Also I don't really want it to detract from the story I want to tell. There will probably be little hints and what-not but nothing major. I'm sorry if that disappoints you but that is the way this story will be and I'm sure there are many more stories that can accomodate your needs, but I still hope you can enjoy my story nevertheless. So there you have it, now if you'll excuse me, I have Pokemon to catch! # _TeamInstinct_**

 **Until next time, see ya!**


	7. A Fossil Fiasco

**Hey guys, sorry about the lack of updates I got a bit too caught up in the Olympic fever and kind of forgot about this. I have also returned to uni so expect a less regular schedule for the next few months. But with that being said here is the next chapter! Just a head's up though, this chapter is a bit dark so bring a flashlight! Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 7: A Fossil Fiasco

Brock was walking down the moonlit path en route to Mt. Moon to keep the fossils out of the hands of Team Rocket. There was a reason he decided chose to take this path over the Pewter City Museum, and it was because he heard rumours that one of Team Rocket's Executives had come to personally run this mission and was currently stationed inside Mt. Moon. Brock had an idea exactly who that was and wanted to deal with that situation himself. It wasn't long before his suspicions were confirmed when a young man with sharp facial features, highlighted with teal-green eyes and hair came walking down the same path towards Brock. He had the black Team Rocket outfit with long white, leather gloves and boots and also sported a black beret.

"So you have come to greet us Brock!" the teal haired man smiled mockingly.

"I have, and this time I have the power to stop you guys Proton." Brock replied with a hint of anger to his voice.

"I see, well then why don't you try to stop me right here and now. Although I should mention that the inside of Mt. Moon is lined up with explosives which are set to detonate any moment now. So if you waste your time here, that precious little cave will have collapsed on dozens of unsuspecting travellers and provide us with a whole lot of fossils to add to our army." Proton explained with an evil smirk.

"I don't believe you for a second! You're the man I hate most in this world so don't think I'm ever going to let you walk around, free to do as you please!" Brock scowled with his brows furrowed with pure hatred.

"Hahahaha, so you're willing to sacrifice Mt. Moon and all of the innocent hikers and trainers taking refuge there for some petty revenge." Proton laughed manically as he re-presented Brock with his options.

"This is no petty revenge Proton, as the man that killed my mother, you should know that it's much more than that." Brock responded.

"Enough Brock!" a voice that Brock hadn't heard in four years called out. "You're anger is clouding your judgement."

Brock turned around slowly to see that his father was standing behind him. "Dad…? Where the hell have you been?" he scowled with his voice full of anger and frustration

"Hahahaha, I see you've come to join the party as well Flint!" Proton mocked. "And now I'm blessed with the sight of a touching reunion between father and son."

"I'm sorry Brock, I was too ashamed to show my face after I watched your mother be murdered right before my very own eyes." Flint sombrely admitted. "But I have been watching and protecting you from a distance and I'm proud of the man you've become."

"But… what…?" Brock stuttered as he was completely and utterly speechless.

"I know you must have many questions, but they will have to wait." Flint explained. "I hate this monster as much as you so I shall deal with him. You go to Mt. Moon and sort everything out there."

"Grr… but I want to-" Brock started to say before Flint cut him off.

"I know, but you've managed your anger so well for the last four years, you cannot allow it to resurface and consume you again. I know you can handle that Brock, you're already twice the man I have ever been or ever will be. So go, I'll handle this!" Flint instructed.

"Dammit, alright but I'll deal with you later!" Brock grunted as he ran straight past Proton and towards Mt. Moon.

Proton's smile had disappeared once he realised that things hadn't quite gone according to plan. "Well I certainly didn't expect you to be so fatherly Flint. But I guess I'll have my hands full with you for the time being." he said as he evaluated the situation.

"Yes you will. I may have told Brock to subdue his anger and ignore his quest for revenge." Flint began to explain. "But I'm a horrible father! I say one thing and do another! I am as big a hypocrite as they come! THE SIGHT OF YOU MAKES ME FURIOUS!"

"Hahahahaha, well then, shall we do battle?" Proton laughed as he unclipped a Pokeball from his belt.

* * *

"So how are we going to go about finding and rescuing the hostages?" Misty asked trying to rack her brain for ideas. Both her and Ash now stood in front of the museum and were trying to come up with a plan of action.

"Should we go to the police?" Ash asked.

"Definitely not. You heard what Green said in Viridian City. Team Rocket pays off the police. They pretty much run Kanto from behind the scenes." Misty explained.

"Then I guess we just have to sneak around undetected." Ash suggested.

"I guess so. We should split up for extra coverage." Misty added.

"Got it!" Ash affirmed as he slowly pushed the door open before taking a quick look around to make sure the coast was clear. Seeing no-one in sight, he walked in and turned right.

Misty did the same and took the left hall, giving her best effort to make as little sound as possible.

* * *

"How dare these bastards defile Mt. Moon and the Pewter City Museum!" Brock grunted to himself, trying as hard as he can to get a grip on his anger. It was quite uncharacteristic of Brock to be consumed by anger as he was normally very patient, kind and nurturing, but since seeing the face of the man who killed his mother, he couldn't control himself. Not only that, but they were targeting areas that contained precious memories for Brock.

 _XXXXX_

" _Hey Brock, come check this out!" a warm voice called out._

 _An eight year old Brock came running around the corner to see his mother kneeling on the ground, holding up a fossil that she had excavated from he rock walls of Mt. Moon. His mother, Lola, had fair skin and short, curly brown hair and warm brown eyes. "Wow, what is it?" he asked excitedly._

" _This is a Dome Fossil, and if it were to be revived, you would see a now extinct Pokemon, Kabuto!" Lola explained._

" _Wow, what was it like?" Brock asked, his eyes full of wonder._

" _Well, we don't know a lot about it but we believe that this hard shell here protected it from predators." Lola informed as she pointed to a shell-like engraving in the fossil._

" _Cool..." Brock admired. "I wonder what it would be like to raise a Pokemon like that."_

" _Haha, you still want to become a Pokemon Breeder?" Lola asked._

" _Yeah, and not only that, but I want to become the best breeder in the world!" Brock declared, with his fists clenched with determination._

" _I see, well you'll have to work hard at it then." Lola pointed out._

" _I know, I will!" Brock exclaimed._

 _Lola chuckled and raised her hand to rub Brock's head. "I have faith in you Brock. You can do anything you put your mind to." she said lovingly._

 _XXXXX_

Brock reminisced about the times he spent with his mother in Mt. Moon as he approached the entrance to the cave. Outside the cave he could see a flock of blue and purple bat-like Pokemon flying around. "A flock of Zubat? Well that could come in handy!" he exclaimed as he pulled out a Pokeball and threw it a one of the unsuspecting Bat Pokemon. The Zubat that got hit was instantly sucked into the Pokeball and barely put up any resistance before he Pokeball dinged to signify its capture.

"Alright!" he exclaimed as he picked up the Pokeball containing his newest Pokemon.

 _XXXXX_

" _But Mum, Mt. Moon is dark and scary. How are we going to walk around?" a seven year old Brock asked nervously._

" _Because I have this Zubat!" Lola answered as she called out her Zubat from its Pokeball._

" _And what's that Zubat going to do?" Brock asked._

" _Well you see, Zubat's use supersonic sound waves to detect where they are going, so if we follow this Zubat, we'll never get lost." Lola explained thoroughly._

" _Okaaay, but it's still scary..." Brock muttered._

" _Well I'll hold your hand so you know that I'm right there with you for every step of the way."_

 _XXXXX_

"Heh, even now Mum is still guiding me through life." Brock laughed to himself as he looked down at his Pokeball.

* * *

"I… lost..." Flint muttered as he was hunched over on all fours. Tears fell from eyes as he wallowed about in self-pity. "Brock is gonna hate me more than ever now. I can't believe I lost to that bastard." he cried to himself.

 _XXXXX_

" _Well there you go, you lost." Proton boasted. "Normally I would kill those that stood in my way, but your existence is so pathetic that it would almost be crueller to let you live. You couldn't avenge your wife and you won't be able to protect your kids."_

" _Don't you touch my children!" Flint cried out._

" _As the loser here, you really don't have a lot of leeway. As soon as I'm done with the museum, your kids are my next target!" Proton informed._

" _You monster! How could you? They're only children!" Flint scowled._

" _Yes but they're your children! It's how Team Rocket does business hahahaha! Those who dare stand in our way must suffer the consequences! Hahahaha!" Proton laughed maniacally as he informed Flint how Team Rocket operates._

 _XXXXX_

"Dammit! What am I going to do now?" he asked himself, but couldn't find any answers. He could only think to return home and give his life to protect his kids. So he he picked himself up, brushed himself off and walked towards the house he hadn't stepped in for four years.

* * *

"That Flint was stronger than I had originally anticipated. To think that he took out four of my Pokemon. I'm glad I neutralised the threat he posed to this operation." Proton analysed as he approached the Pewter City Museum. The Team Rocket Executive entered the building and made a left. Some of his underlings had reported that the researchers are refusing to hand over the pass code for the laboratory, so he was heading towards the basement to sort it out.

* * *

Misty was sneaking around the Pewter City Museum, stealthily avoiding all of the Team Rocket Grunts that were patrolling the area. She was trying to analyse the movements of each grunt to see if they would lead her to the hostages. She knew that this was her only option if she didn't want to attract attention to herself. However this turned out to be in vain when she heard someone sinister call out from behind her.

"Hey there Little Miss, what do you think you're doing sneaking around at this time of the night. Don't you know that the Museum is closed at this hour?" Proton asked sarcastically.

"Damn it, I've been spotted!" Misty grunted as she reached for one of her Pokeballs.

"Wait a minute, I've seen you somewhere." Proton said as he dug through his memories to place her.

"Hmm?" Misty paused, slightly confused.

"Ah that's right." Proton smirked "You're Misty Waterflower!"

"What?" Misty's eyes immediately widened upon hearing her full name being uttered. "H-how do… how you k-know that name?"

"Haha, so it is you! Misty Waterflower, you have a price on your head." Proton revealed. "Someone from the Kanto underbelly wants you. Fortunately for you, they want you alive."

Misty was trembling, paralysed with fear. Was her past seriously catching up to her already? She still needed more time. She didn't know how to react as Proton just simply walked up and fastened a zip-tie around her wrists while she was still in shock.

"Come with me, you're gonna earn me a nice paycheck. Hahahaha!" Proton laughed as he dragged the motionless red-head with him towards the stairs heading to the basement. He dragged her all the way down the stairs and threw her on the ground where six Rocket grunts were keeping about a dozen researchers hostage.

"You monster!" one of the researchers called out. "She's just a child, how could you be so cruel?"

"Hahahahaha! We don't discriminate over at Team Rocket! Man, woman, child, black or white, it doesn't matter to us! If you stand in our way, we will cut you down!" Proton explained emphatically. "Anyway, I have other business to attend with you."

* * *

Ash and Pikachu were having a much easier time avoiding Team Rocket on the right side of the museum as it was a lot emptier. "I don't think anything is over here. Can you smell anything Pikachu?" he asked quietly.

"Pi ka." the Mouse Pokemon shook its head from atop of Ash's shoulder.

"Well then I think we should go check on Misty to see if she found anything." Ash explained as he turned around. Pikachu agreed with this and the two of them silently crept back towards the entrance and around the left wing of the building. Immediately Ash saw that there was a lot more grunts foraging through the exhibits, presumably for fossils. What really caught his attention however was the commotion that could be heard from his left, where a 'Staff Only' door was left open to reveal a set of stairs heading down. "Interesting. I say we go check it out Pikachu." Ash gestured.

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu agreed, picking up on a wide variety of scents coming from the area.

Ash scurried across the hall and crept downstairs, careful not to raise awareness of his movements. Upon descending, he immediately saw the researchers that were taken hostage and knew he was in the right place, but what really caught his eye was Misty who was staring wide-eyed at the floor and covered in a nervous sweat.

"Dammit, Misty's been captured! Hmm, what am I going to do?" Ash whispered, racking his brain for a rescue strategy.

"Alright then!" Proton exclaimed as he took centre-stage in front of all the researchers and turning Ash's attention to him. "I have been informed that you stubborn idiots are refusing to grant us entrance to your laboratory. Need I remind you what happened last time I was here!"

The researchers all refused to budge. They just continued to sit there and stare at the ground.

"Still nothing! You there, in the orange dress! What happened at this very spot four years ago?" Proton asked emphatically as he pointed towards a spectacled, brown-haired researcher in an orange dress.

The woman was motionless for a moment before she blurted out. "It was you, you're the bastard who killed Lola!"

"Ding, ding, ding! That's correct! I did kill your precious little friend when she opposed me, so why don't we cut the crap this time around and just give me what I want." Proton proposed maliciously.

"Never!" she spat. "It would be dishonourable to her memory if we handed it over to you this time around!"

"Well unfortunately for you, I've disposed of your saviour from last time, so no-one is coming to save you this time around." Proton explained. "So we can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way. What will it be?"

"So you killed Flint?" a researcher asked pathetically.

"Not yet, but he'll soon beg me to." Proton replied.

The brown-haired woman was motionless. "You will only get those fossils over my dead body! It would be an insult to both Lola and Flint if I were to just hand over my research over to you." she said with absolute conviction.

Proton smirked. "That can be arranged!" he responded as he unclipped a Pokeball from his belt and released a blue and purple bat Pokemon with a large gaping mouth.

"Alright Pikachu, get ready to protect that lady." Ash whispered after witnessing the event unfold.

"Golbat, decapitate that woman with Steel Wing!" Proton ordered mercilessly.

Misty snapped out of her trance upon hearing that and was suddenly fixated on the researcher.

The other researchers either turned away, unable to watch or cried out helplessly.

"Quick Attack into Iron Tail!" Ash called out, announcing his presence.

Golbat's wing had a metallic glow to it as the Bat Pokemon mad a bee line for the woman's neck but was intercepted by Pikachu, who appeared out of nowhere to stop the Steel Wing with its own Iron Tail.

"What?! What's the meaning of this?" Proton asked in frustration, momentarily losing composure.

"Ash..." Misty gasped with a hint of hope in her voice.

The researcher who was set to be executed fainted from pure shock and fear.

The two Pokemon were locked in combat momentarily before they broke apart and with Proton genuinely caught off guard, Ash decided to take the initiative.

"Pikachu, finish it with a Thunderbolt!" Ash called out from across the room.

Pikachu unleashed a powerful Thunderbolt at the discomposed Bat Pokemon who shrieked in pain as the electricity coursed through its body for super-effective damage. Due to the surprise factor of the attack, Golbat was unable to brace itself so it was rendered unconscious by the single blow from Pikachu and fell to the ground with steam emanating from its body.

"Huh, who's responsible for this?" Proton yelled out in rage before taking in a deep breath to calm himself.

Ash walked into the room in full view of everyone and boldly stated, "That would be me, Ash Ketchum!"

The six Team Rocket Grunts present immediately surrounded Ash with their Pokeballs out at the ready.

"Stand down!" Proton ordered. "I'll deal with with this."

Respecting his authority, the grunts returned to their post with a cautious eye on the situation.

"Well Ash Ketchum, you have succeeded in catching me off guard and you can take pride in that. Not many people are able to do that." Proton explained. "My name is Proton, a Team Rocket Executive and I am the one in charge of this fossil heist."

"Well then you're the guy I need to stop." Ash analysed succinctly.

"Well yes, I guess I would be the man to stop. I like the way you think: cut the head off and the body will fall. But how exactly do you plan on cutting the head off in this situation? You're outnumbered 7 to 1 and have hostages to think about saving. You don't quite seem to grasp the situation do you?" Proton patronised.

"Well I was planning on coming up with a better plan but then you were going to kill that lady so I had to step in." Ash explained.

"Ah I see! You're too empathetic for your own good. If you let her die you could have formulated a plan to secretly take out my underlings before coming after me. Hahahahaha! But you couldn't do that could you?" Proton continued to mock.

"Like hell I sacrifice someone like that!" Ash retorted angrily. "You Team Rocket guys make me sick!"

"Hahahaha is that so?" Proton laughed. "Well what do you plan on doing about it? It's not the same situation as it was in the Viridian Forest you little brat!"

"Huh? How do you know about that?" Ash asked.

"I recognised the name from Anthony's report." Proton answered. "I'm very well informed aren't I Ms Waterflower?"

Misty instinctively froze up. She had no intentions of that name being known to anyone so she could retain her freedom but now it was catching up to her.

"You didn't think I failed to recognise your Pikachu as well? Or should I say _our_ Pikachu." Proton taunted, provoking Ash and Pikachu to tense up.

"Grr I won't let you take Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed.

"That's all well and good of you to say but I don't recall you being in any sort of position to make demands." Proton replied. "But I'll tell you what, since you miraculously managed to catch me off guard, I'll entertain you for a while." he said as he pulled out a Pokeball and called forth a Weezing.

"A Weezing hey? I wonder what the Pokedex has to say about this." Ash muttered.

" _Weezing: the Poison Gas Pokemon and the evolved form of Koffing. Weezing_ _lives and grows by absorbing dust, germs, and poison gases that are contained in toxic waste and garbage."_

"You're very nonchalant for the situation at hand here. Perhaps you misinterpreted me. Don't think that if by some chance you manage to beat my Weezing, that I'll let everyone go and give back the fossils. I'm not that honourable. I have six other grunts at my beck and call who will not hesitate to use underhanded tactics to bring you down. I am merely entertaining you to provide a false sense of hope to my precious hostages which in turn, will make it more entertaining for me to strip that hope away, hahahaha!" Proton expained maliciously.

"Ash, be careful!" Misty called out after regaining her composure.

"Don't worry Misty. Losing isn't really an option for me here. If I lose, I'll die and there's even a good chance that they'll kill me if I win as well. But I can't let them get away with this so I have to try!" Ash exclaimed. "Brock has gone to Mt. Moon to stop your operation there and I'm going to stop you here!"

"Hahahaha is that so? I'd like to see that." Proton patronised. "However, Brock is a pain in my side but I'll deal with him after I finish up here."

"Well then, let's do this! Pidgeotto, I choose you!" Ash called out, his voice full to the brim with determination.

* * *

 **So, what did you all think? Be sure to review and let me know! As I said earlier, I'm back at uni so don't expect next chapter for another two or three weeks.**

 **Thanks for reading and until next time, see ya!**


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